Two men arrested after illegal fuel laundering site dismantled in Newry

By Hannah Spratt

A suspected fuel laundering site built to produce millions of pounds of illegal fuel has been dismantled in Newry.

It's after Police and HMRC officers carried out searches and seized items at an industrial site on the outskirts of the city on Wednesday.

45-thousand litres of illicit fuel was also recovered.

Two men have been arrested.

The suspected laundering plant had the potential to produce in excess of 10 million litres of illicit fuel a year, with the potential loss of £6.5 million in revenue.

Steve Tracey, Assistant Director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said:

“We remain alert to the often dangerous methods criminals use attempting to remove the government markers from rebated fuel and will continue to work with our multi-agency partners to tackle this crime, one we are determined to detect and disrupt.

“Given that laundering plants have been found close to homes and retail sites they have always posed a serious risk to the public. Fuel launderers abandon harmful waste and transport fuel in vehicles that are unfit for purpose and unsafe. We believe criminals are now experimenting with processes that carry a risk of explosion as they seek to defeat fuel markers and I would urge anyone with information about this extremely dangerous activity to report it to HMRC online or contact our Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.”

The two men arrested were questioned by HMRC and have been released on bail. Investigations into the fraud are ongoing.