By C.J. MCGinley
A MAJOR investigation was continuing yesterday (Thursday) into the sale of laundered fuel at a service station in the East Donegal area.
The customs officers' sting in the early hours of Wednesday morning followed detailed surveillance and the fuel laundering/sale operation involved at the retail station was described yesterday as being "highly sophisticated". A lorry and approximately 6,000 litres of fuel were removed from the premises. A man has been questioned and a file will be forwarded to the DPP in due course.
Officers from the Revenue's Custom Service based in Letterkenny and assisted by officers from Revenue's Special Compliance District in Sligo carried out a search, under warrant, of a retail service station in east Donegal in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
During the search officers discovered a man in the process of discharging laundered diesel from a lorry into an underground 20,000 litre storage tank.
They also found a sophisticated electronic switching system buried under a layer of gravel which was designed to allow the diesel pumps to be fed from the concealed tank or from the regular tanks.
The steel bodied lorry had been specially adapted by the fitting of a false floor which enabled the carriage of 4,500 litres of fuel. The lorry was loaded with bags of peat moss as cover. Both the filling pipes and discharge pipes were well concealed. The lorry and approximately 6,000 litres of fuel were detained and removed from the premises.
"Laundering or 'washing' of red or green diesel defrauds the state of excise duty and VAT. People also need to be aware of the environmental and safety issues surrounding the laundering of diesel. They need to consider what happens to the waste by product and the damage caused by contamination to arable land and our waters and rivers," a Revenue spokesman said.
"Chemicals used during the process remain in the oil and can cause severe damage over a period to vehicle engines and fuel pumps. We urge members of the public to contact their nearest Revenue office if they know of any fuel misuse or suspicious activity in their area."
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