Northern Ireland crime: Illegal fuel lorries ‘are like travelling bombs’

The supermarket lorry in front, having driven openly across the border, is probably on its way to make a legitimate goods delivery.

But the supermarket lorry in front could just as easily be a fake and the driver smuggling laundered fuel across the border for delivery at a number of the province’s petrol stations.

Or the pick-up truck behind may have just made a delivery of illegal fuel and is travelling back to restock at a laundering plant south of the border.

These vehicles look authentic on the outside, but inside they have been skillfully modified to disguise containers of illegal fuel destined for the Northern Ireland market — and thousands of unsuspecting motorists.

For years fuel smuggling has been a major headache for the Treasury with fuel fraudsters taking advantage of cheaper fuel prices in the Republic to increase their multi-million pound profit margins. Five years ago a Westminster report said half the filling stations here were selling illegal fuel.

Security sources believe there are between 15 and 20 organised crime gangs involved in fuel fraud at the most serious level. The crime bosses are mainly based in the south but travel across the border to carry out their business.

But, with the weakening of the pound against the euro, these organised fuel fraudsters are being forced to look at other ways to make money.

Rebated fuel, like red diesel, is subject to reduced duty, making it cheaper to purchase and therefore attractive to criminal gangs for laundering.

Due to new restrictions on the sale of red diesel in Northern Ireland, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs has revealed fuel fraudsters are now using green diesel which is purchased and laundered in the Republic before being brazenly transported along main roads across the border.

“For a long time we were looking at fuel smuggling from the Republic into Northern Ireland because it was so much cheaper. But there is a big change now that the euro is so strong. Laundering is getting busier and because of the restrictions on red diesel the stuff we are getting back is laundered green,” John Whiting, assistant director of criminal investigation for HMRC told the Belfast Telegraph.

“The market is mutating. They just can’t get the red diesel in the quantities they need so they are using green diesel which is much more available. It is more expensive than red diesel but only a few pence more so there is still a huge profit margin.”

The green diesel is resourced in the Republic and delivered to fuel farms, mainly in north Louth or Monaghan.

One of the main methods used to launder rebated fuel is the use of acid, but this method requires a lot of manpower so some of the criminals are using activated carbon which is an effective way of producing high volumes of ‘cleaned’ fuel. Laundering plants using activated carbon do not need manpower and can be set up and left until the fuel is ready for delivery.

Both methods result in large quantities of waste product which HMRC says is being dumped mainly in south Armagh or south Tyrone, creating all sorts of environmental problems.

The ‘cleaned’ fuel is then poured into containers which are concealed inside a cleverly modified and disguised vehicle. Scout cars travel ahead of the vehicle to make sure no police or customs officials are along the route. The fuel is then dumped into an underground tanker at petrol stations.

In the past HMRC has discovered fuel being transported in specially adapted vehicles that included a bin lorry, a Parcel Force van and a vehicle transporting sheep. Some of these vehicles were able to deliver 10,000 litres of laundered fuel in 10 minutes.

Fuel smugglers were also caught in Keady smuggling fuel inside a modified Airport Fire and Rescue truck. They were apprehended after police officers became suspicious that the vehicle was so far from an airport.

“Some vehicles being used are stolen and some are bought very cheaply at market,” said Mr Whiting. “They are specially adapted on the inside to carry the fuel and are dressed up to look like a legitimate business.

“The criminals are stealing the identity of legitimate vehicles and copying the logo and the registration number. They clone it to make it look identical.

“They want to make it look like a vehicle that would not look out of place on a forecourt. The vehicles are designed to be very quick to deliver the fuel with a hatch at the top to fill the tank and a hatch at the bottom to dump the fuel quickly. They are very devious in what they do.

“We are getting better detecting them so they are starting to change their methods. They are going smaller but more often.

“These vehicles are a real danger travelling. The brakes can get too hot for the fuel and go on fire or if they are not balanced correctly they can overturn. They are travelling bombs,” Mr Whiting added.

Fuel laundering is estimated to produce around five million litres a year and the HMRC is predicting a rise due to the fall in profits for smuggling.

There is still seen to be a close association between border republicans and the illicit fuel trade and the spectre of this involvement seems to be making it difficult to catch the fraudsters, mainly because of the power of intimidation against witnesses.

HMRC insists it is denting the illegal fuel market and has stopped substantial amounts of harmful diesel entering the legitimate market.

But with so much money to be made, it is unlikely those involved will be letting these successes force them to throw in the towel anytime soon.