A fully operational fuel-laundering plant near Nutts Corner in County Antrim was dismantled on Friday 20 April 2007, by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Officers also seized around 13,450 litres of illicit fuel and arrested two people. The filtration type laundering plant was hidden in a farm outbuilding not far from a public road and nearby residential property. Two vehicles were detained and a transit van seized along with a forklift truck, storage tanks, fuel pumps and filtration equipment. Eight tons of contaminated waste was also removed from the site. It has been estimated that the output of the plant was around 20,000 litres per week, with a potential annual revenue loss of almost £625,000.
There was evidence of significant leakage from the shed containing the laundering plant, which had the potential to cause significant harm to human health and the environment. HMRC Acting Head of Criminal Investigation Northern Ireland Joe McGuigan said, "Revenue and Customs officers have stopped a substantial amount of harmful diesel from damaging engines, endangering lives and the environment and affecting honest businesses. The success of this operation is the result of our determined efforts, along with our partners, to disrupt and dismantle the illegal supply of fuel."
