EIGHT men have been arrested and 55,000 litres of fuel seized following raids in St Helens, Manchester, Liverpool and Knowsley as part of an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) into a smuggling operation worth around £3m in unpaid tax.

Officers from HMRC searched one business and four domestic addresses as part of their investigation. Simultaneously in Northern Ireland HMRC and officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland carried out searches of six domestic addresses in counties Antrim, Armagh and Down.

Sandra Smith, Assistant Director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: “Fuel fraud costs millions of pounds in lost duty every year, meaning the public lose out on vital funds for essential services, and it creates an uneven playing field for honest businesses. We will continue to work with our partners to tackle this fraud and ask anyone with information about this type of activity to contact the Customs’ Hotline on 0800 59 5000.”

Storage tanks, equipment, 55,000 litres of fuel, a quantity of cash, computers, business records, a lorry and a trailer were seized during the operation. Seven men have been released on bail and investigations continue.

Those arrested include one man, age 56, from County Down, a man, age 47, from County Antrim, two men, aged 37 and 45, from County Armagh, three men, age 34, 54 and 72, from Merseyside and a man, age 37, from Manchester

Anyone with information regarding fraud is encouraged to contact the Customs Hotline on 0800 59 5000 or report it online via hmrc.gov.uk/reportingfraud/online.htm