16 illicit fuel sites closed in Northern Ireland so far this year

A total of 16 illicit fuel laundering plants were discovered and shut down in Northern Ireland in the first six months of the year, a spokeswoman for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has confirmed.

Together, the various laundries had an estimated capacity of over 100 million litres a year.

Eight of the latest finds, with a combined capacity of 53 million litres of diesel a year, were made in a three-week period to 7 June, HMRC has revealed.

Despite the finds, HMRC stressed that it does not believe Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to be the main suppliers of illicit fuel in Great Britain.

Responding to queries by Commercialmotor.com, the HMRC spokeswoman said that duty rebated fuels were readily available across the whole of the UK. She pointed out that it would be more lucrative and less risky for criminal gangs to launder it locally to the point of sale, than do so in Ireland and then pay for additional transport costs.

“The number of illegal fuel manufacturing sites detected in the last year reflect that we have dismantled more sites in Great Britain than in Northern Ireland, which would suggest that the majority of Great Britain fraud is not as a result of smuggled fuel,” she confirmed.

Meanwhile, evaluation by HMRC of a number of potential new chemical markers that should be harder to remove from rebated fuel than those currently in use is now expected to take until this autumn, said the spokeswoman. “Both Revenue Authorities are working to complete the process as early as possible,” she said.

Last month HMRC warned operators to think twice about using illict fuel.