UNLICENSED HAULIERS are to be targeted over the coming months as part of a campaign to “significantly increase” enforcement of road haulage laws, the Garda Síochána has said.
The clampdown comes as a new cross-Border group was set up in an attempt to counter the illegal trade in fuel.
Gardaí will today begin a campaign to intensify detection of hauliers who are unlicensed or otherwise in breach of the law, a spokesman said, while an enforcement drive at ports and Border crossings will focus on hauliers from other countries without proper documents. The campaign will also prioritise detection of the illegal transportation of waste.
“We will significantly increase our own enforcement and also engage in multi-agency checkpoints with a view to identifying unlicensed haulage activity whilst at the same time ensuring least possible inconvenience for bona fide hauliers,” the spokesman said.
A series of three-day operations will begin on July 15th, when multi-agency checkpoints will look for untaxed fuel, illegal transportation of waste and unlicensed haulage activities. This will be followed by five further such operations later this year.
“In fairness to them, they are entitled to a level playing field,” Assistant Commissioner Eddie Rock said of the legitimate operators.
Details of the Garda campaign were released following an announcement at the weekend by the Revenue Commissioners of a major clampdown on marked fuel. Increased “multi-agency” checkpoints, including gardaí, Customs officers, Department of Transport enforcement officers and Department of the Environment officials are expected following 471 illegal fuel detections this year, and 1,192 in 2007.
Figures released by Revenue for this year show that, along with the 471 detections, there have been 10 seizures of oil totalling 57,500 litres.
The Irish Road Haulage Association has welcomed the move to intensify the detection campaign. Its president, Jimmy Quinn, has called for the seizure of vehicles from hauliers who use illegal diesel.
Meanwhile, a cross-Border group is being established in an attempt to combat the illegal trade in fuel. The fuel fraud enforcement group will include representatives from Customs and police authorities on both sides of the Border.
It is being established by the Northern Ireland Security Minister, Paul Goggins, and will include the PSNI, the UK’s Customs and Excise authorities, criminal assets recovery agencies and all their counterparts in the Republic.
“The group has been briefed to disrupt and dismantle the fuel fraudsters, strip them of their cash and put them before the courts,” Mr Goggins said. “The key players can expect to see the fight against them rise in the next few weeks.”
It is estimated that cross-Border fuel smuggling costs the UK exchequer £270 million (€340 million) a year in lost tax revenue.
