Director has previous conviction.
A director of the Louth oil company crucial to the Garda-PSNI investigation into "serious organised crime" was convicted three months ago of illegally importing and transporting fuel from Northern Ireland.
The judge in the case described the director as a "major player", regardless of the fact that it was his first time before the court. The man in question is the secretary to and a director of the Co Louth Company.
His home was raided yesterday. The latest annual return for the company indicates that he is not a shareholder.
The judge imposed the maximum fine of €1,900 for importing kerosene containing coumarin, a chemical marker used to identify fuel originating in Northern Ireland and Britain. He was not fined for transporting the fuel because the judge took into account the forfeiture of a truck and the seizure of the fuel. However, the judge said he considered the charge of transporting the fuel proved.
Ownership of the company is divided equally between two people who live on either side of the Border. Half the shares in the company are held by an individual whose home was raided yesterday.
The latest abridged accounts for the company, which were filed in the Companies Office last July, show that the value of its assets more than doubled in the year to July 2004.
Arthur Beesley, Senior Business Correspondent