THREE men have been arrested and a suspected fuel laundering plant in south Armagh dismantled following a massive operation involving police in Northern Ireland and Britain.
A 31-year-old man was arrested in Belfast, while 22,500 litres of suspected laundered fuel was seized in south Armagh.
It is believed that the suspected laundering plant had the capacity to produce 20 million litres of illicit fuel a year, potentially evading £11 million in revenue.
More than 2,600 litres of lubricant, two box lorries, a caddy van, and a forklift were also taken away by officers investigating the suspected multi-million pound fuel fraud.
The operation involved more than 50 officers from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), supported by North Wales Police and the PSNI.
They carried out simultaneous searches of nine business and four residential addresses across England and the north.
Tracey Noon of HMRC said the illicit trade in laundered fuel was a serious crime.
"We remain alert to the often dangerous methods and efforts of criminals to remove the government markers from rebated fuel," she said.
A 31-year-old man with an address in the Crewe area of the English Midlands was also arrested along with a 37-year-old man with an address in Surrey.
