Diesel laundering plant raided in Inniskeen

A diesel laundering plant in Co Monaghan, just outside Dundalk, has been raided by Customs Officers and the Gardaí.

The plant at Drumboat, Inniskeen, Co Monaghan – close to the borders with Louth and Armagh – is reported by RTÉ to have had the capacity to launder 20 million litres of diesel a year, with the potential loss of €10m to the Exchequer.

It is suspected that the plant was operating for more than a year.

A 42-year-old male was arrested following the overnight operation in relation to breaches of environmental waste legislation.

Thousands of euro worth of cigarettes and tobacco seized in Louth in the last week

During the last week, Revenue customs officers, assisted by members of An Garda Siochana seized 51,500 ‘MG’ brand cigarettes and 9.5 kgs of ‘Amber Leaf’ tobacco at a roadside stop in Co Louth.

A further 5000 ‘MG’ cigarettes and 1 kg of counterfeit ‘Amber Leaf’ and ‘Golden Virginia’ tobacco were seized in an operation at Drogheda market, and 7,650 ‘MG’ cigarettes were discovered during a search of a retail outlet and a linked private residence in Dundalk.

The retail value of these seizures is €33,600. Three Irish nationals have been questioned and investigations are on-going.

The announcement was made yesterday after the Customs Service revealed they had seized a total of 410 x 50gram pouches of ‘Flandria’ tobacco in Co Cavan.

The 330 pouches, sent through the post in eleven cartons, to private addresses, were identified by Revenue customs staff at Dublin mail centre. During the operation two private houses were searched and officers seized a further 80 pouches. The tobacco is valued at a total of €8,200.

These seizures are part of Revenue’s on-going operations targeting the supply and sale of illegal cigarettes in the shadow economy. If businesses or members of the public have any information regarding the smuggling or sale of illegal cigarettes or tobacco, they can contact Revenue in confidence on free phone number 1800 295 295.