Gardaí from the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) will examine documentation related to reportedly one of the biggest diesel laundries in the State, which was raided by Customs officers at 4am yesterday.
Gardaí believe that criminals with links to dissidents are behind the plant, which had the ability to launder 20 million litres of diesel a year – a potential loss to the exchequer of €10.5 million.
The laundry, which was in a recently constructed custom-built building, would have netted those behind it approximately €10 million a year in undeclared income. It is situated at Drumboat, Inniskeen, where the borders of Louth, Armagh and Monaghan meet.
On site were two storage tanks and three oil tankers. One of the tankers carried a concealed mobile laundry. Also seized were 50,000 litres of mostly laundered fuel. The operation was led by Customs, with significant support from the armed Garda Regional Support Unit as well as detectives from Carrickmacross.
The plant was apparently laundering green diesel, which is legitimately sold at a reduced price for use in agricultural and off- road vehicles. The process removes the green dye.