The Northern Ireland authorities claimed today to be winning the battle against those involved in smuggling and black market activities along the Border.
The Northern Ireland Office made the claim after an Ulster Unionist Assembly member alleged paramilitary gangs were being given free rein to smuggle fuel and other goods from the Republic into south Armagh.
Urging Northern Ireland Secretary Mr Paul Murphy to order a police, customs and Assets Recovery Agency offensive against the gangs, Newry and Armagh MLA Mr Danny Kennedy said: "Local people are noticing a range of illegal activity which is being allowed to go on.
"They notice every day unmarked tankers on south Armagh's roads which are involved in diesel laundering and fuel smuggling and they also note the relative inaction of the Customs and Excise, the PSNI and the criminal assets agency.
"The conclusion people are reaching is these rogues are being allowed to carry on because it is politically expedient for the Government to leave these paramilitary linked gangs alone.
"The Secretary of State must launch an offensive to deal with these people who are making huge amounts of money at the taxpayers' expense and who seem to be above or beyond the law."
The Provisional IRA has been accused of involvement in the illegal fuel trade and the sale of illegal cigarettes. Republican and loyalist paramilitaries as well as criminal gangs have also been linked to the sale of pirate DVDs, videos, computer games, music CDs, the sale of cheap alcohol and fake designer clothes.
Loyalist paramilitaries and criminal gangs are believed to be involved in the North's drugs trade.
A Northern Ireland Office spokesman insisted today the Organised Crime Taskforce was hitting the pockets of gangs in south Armagh and across Northern Ireland .
"During 2003-4, Organised Crime Taskforce partners recovered over £7.5 million of counterfeit goods, drugs valued at £12.5 million and have seized 1.59 million litres of illicit fuel," he said.
"Around 1,700 individuals were arrested for involvement in organised criminal activities. "These successes send a clear message to criminal gangs that we will continue to disrupt their activities and rid them from our community. "Anyone who has information about criminal activities should contact the police."
Customs officers also claimed they were having an impact on the illegal fuel trade, with 110,000 litres seized during last month's cross Border clampdown. A number of illicit fuel plants were closed down in south Armagh, Down and north Louth during Operation Nursery which involved police and customs officers in Northern Ireland and the Republic.
A customs spokesman said: "We take the problem of fraud very seriously in Northern Ireland and have put a comprehensive strategy in place to deal with it. "As a tax collection agency we are responsible for tackling fraud and for tackling everybody involved in fraud.
"For the second successive year there has actually been a seven per cent increase in terms of legitimate fuel deliveries, which is very encouraging when you consider that there was a five year decline before that.
PA