Fuel smugglers are siphoning hundreds of millions of pounds out of Northern Ireland's economy every year, it was claimed today.
Security Minister Ms Jane Kennedy vowed to smash the tax evaders who peddled cheap diesel and petrol as a new agency set up to fight them met for the first time.
She said: "Organised criminals are essentially ruthless traders with an eye to maximising their profits; the desire to make money is their primary aim.
"Evasion of tax is a very serious problem here in Northern Ireland with the revenue loss from this fraud running into hundreds of millions of pounds every year."
Ms Kennedy, who chairs the Northern Ireland's Organised Crime Task Force, said the criminal operations meant that hospitals, schools and transport schemes were being starved of vital cash.
The successes scored against organised crime gangs in the past few weeks would be followed by more, she said.
A major fuel laundering plant discovered in Cookstown, County Tyrone, three filling stations and 137 vehicles were snared in a week-long customs blitz on illegal fuel.
The largest-ever fuel laundering plant, capable of processing more than a million litres per month, was dismantled outside Newry, County Down.
Ms Kennedy said transporting rogue diesel also posed huge dangers, adding: "People need to be aware of the hazardous conditions under which fuel is stored and delivered to petrol stations (and) the contamination of our environment when criminals dump toxic by-products."
PA