Dirty diesel is a deal with the devil

Yesterday saw the raid of a major diesel laundering plant in Co. Mongaghan. A joint operation between the Garda, the Criminal Assets Bureau, Customs and Excise and the PSNI saw four people arrested and nearly 50,000 litres of fuel seized. A good day’s work but only the tip of a very nasty iceberg. Fuel smuggling and laundering is big business and is perpetrated by some of the most despicable people on our island. With fuel so expensive it may be very tempting to buy diesel at a knockdown price but the AA implores motorists not to make that deal with the devil. It may save a few bob but the expense, moral and financial, means it is just not worth it.

There is a stereotype that fuel laundering is mostly happening in border counties. Not true. Yesterday’s raid targeted service stations in Roscommon, Galway, Offaly, Westmeath and Dublin. That fuel plant alone was capable at full capacity of supplying diesel to 10 busy garages all year round. Who is buying this fuel, and why? 

The great majority of garage owners are honest. Like the rest of us they are having a tough time of it these days. No-one is making money easily. The margins on fuel are so low that if you buy €30 of diesel and a cup of coffee in a garage they are literally making more money on the coffee.And then they get a phone call, or maybe someone drops in for a chat when its quiet. There’s a load of diesel available, it can be delivered by a respectable looking tanker this afternoon. Just once, you can make 30 cent a litre on it instead of 3 or 4. It is tempting.

Before you know it you have borrowed money from Tony Soprano. Another load arrives, and another, and it is made completely clear to you that you cannot turn them away. It really is a deal with the devil. In a short while your business is not your own and you are tied to these guys.

The scale is enormous. The AA has seen industry estimates that laundered diesel could be as much as 10 per cent of the total market. The loss to the exchequer is certainly not less than €100 million and could be as much as €200 million.

To put it another way, the loss to the state just from the laundering plant that was raided in Monaghan yesterday was enough to pay for 225 Special Needs Assistants. To put it very mildy, Ireland needs SNAs in class rooms a lot more than we need these grubby thieves.

Add to that the damage done to our environment by the reckless disposal of diesel sludge and by-products from the laundering process. The Garda found hazardous fuel waste dumped close to a water treatment plant in Dundalk just this week, again down to these criminals. 

Motorists normally buy laundered diesel without knowing it. It is entirely possible that I have bought some, or that you have. Because of the chemicals used in the laundering process the protracted use of the fuel will damage your engine and shorten the car’s life.  The AA is happy to congratulate the agencies involved in the operation this week but we need to do more.One intriguing suggestion that has been made by the legitimate industry is worth pursuing. Agricultural diesel with its green marker dye is supplied to farmers and various other groups for use in off-road machinery, and that’s fine. But why don’t we cut off the criminal industry at the source by getting rid of green diesel completely and instead bring in a rebate system. Farmers and genuine users of green diesel can then just buy the normal stuff and be compensated for the difference by claiming it back on their taxes.

It might mean some more administrative work and some initial inconvenience in terms of cash flow. But with about €150 million a year being lost to a thriving criminal industry there is a lot of money available to get such a scheme up and running.

Have you bought laundered diesel, or are you suspicious of a garage or outlet in your area? Let us know by emailing us at publicaffairs@aaireland.ie