Illegal fuel plant discovered in Silverbridge
One man has been arrested and released on bail following a HM Revenue and Customs raid on an illegal diesel laundering plant in Silverbridge. Customs officers, joined by the PSNI, uncovered the plant after searching a property in the south Armagh village on Tuesday night. Seven tonnes of toxic waste was seized along with 20,000 litres of illegal fuel and a fuel tanker and equipment.
John Whiting of HMRC said, “Every illegal laundering operation has significant environmental and safety issues. These operations typically generate tonnes of toxic waste, which is often dumped indiscriminately in the countryside. So as taxpayers and local ratepayers not only are we missing out on the tax, which is going into the pockets of the criminals, we are also paying the substantial clean-up and disposal costs.”
He added, “Buying illicit fuel not only funds crime but supports and encourages these dangerous activities within our communities.”
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