AN ILLEGAL diesel plant believed to be making £40,000 a week profit for its owners has been discovered by Customs officers in Dundalk, Co Louth. The plant was concealed behind a false wall which opened to allow trucks into the area.
Customs believes that about 24,000 gallons a week was being processed. One man was being questioned by Customs officers about the plant yesterday.
The operation depended on the price difference between agricultural diesel, used in tractors and other farm vehicles, and diesel sold to motorists. In Northern Ireland, red dye is added to diesel to identify agricultural fuel. In the Republic, green dye is added.
The underground plant removed the dye, Customs claimed. It is believed the "laundered" diesel was being sold to filling station owners for sale to motorists.
The estimated 24,000 gallons of agricultural diesel being brought into the plant weekly would have cost £28,000. The amount of motoring diesel produced from it would be worth about £67,000.
Customs said yesterday they had uncovered the plant following a week long operation. The wall concealing the underground plant was actually a magnetically operated door to an area where tankers could unload a full cargo of diesel in five minutes. Some agricultural and some "laundered" diesel was found on the premises when it was raided by a Customs unit based in Dundalk.
The Revenue Commissioners warned that such processed diesel could corrode fuel tanks and engines. Officers could also test the fuel in a vehicle's tank to determine if the dye had been removed.
The operators of the scheme face a fine of £1,000 and confiscation of all equipment found on the site. Last year, more than 900 offences of this type were detected. Fines totalling almost £100,000 were imposed in 159 court cases while the Revenue accepted "compromise payments" of £162,000.