In a cross-border operation aimed at suspected fuel smugglers, 18 addresses have been raided in counties Monaghan, Cavan and Donegal and in south Armagh.
Around 175,000 litres of illicit fuel, four mobile laundering plants, cash, business records and 12 vehicles have been seized.
Gardaí say the purpose of ‘Operation Jutty’ was to gather evidence and to identify and seize assets held by suspected fuel smugglers.
The suspected fraud is estimated to be costing the British Exchequer a few million pounds each year in lost revenue, according to customs in Northern Ireland.
In the Republic, 13 searches were carried out in Monaghan, Cavan and Donegal. The searches took place at professional offices including solicitors and accountancy firms, private residences and business premises.
€20,000 in cash, documentation, three vehicles, and in excess of 75,000 litres of fuel were seized.
Officers from the Criminal Assets Bureau were joined by the Emergency Response Unit and local gardaí along with members of the Customs service.
One of the searches centred on a yard beside the border at Cullaville in County Monaghan.
In Northern Ireland, customs officers supported by the PSNI carried out searches at three commercial and two private addresses in South Armagh. At one of the business premises, 25,000 litres of toxic waste, the residue from the fuel laundering process, was cleared away.
No arrests were made but the investigation is continuing.
This was the biggest operation so far conducted by the cross-border fuel fraud enforcement group and the authorities said the co-operation between Northern Ireland and the Republic had reached an unprecedented level.
