A man caught operating an illegal diesel plant in Donegal which was costing the Revenue Commissioners €30,000 a week has been jailed for two years.
Roddy Logan was part of a gang who were caught operating the plant in Castlefin on July 6th, 2011.
Letterkenny Circuit Court was told today that the plant was one of the biggest ever found in Donegal.
Revenue officer Bernadette Murray told the court that revenue officers and Gardai found various apparatus including 12,000 litres of mineral oil, hosing, upright cylinders, pumps and cat litter.
Some men found at the plant escaped across fields but Logan was arrested at the scene.
Logan, of Toomebridge, Co Antrim, pleaded guilty to knowingly remove a mineral oil prescribed marker when he appeared at court yesterday.
The court was told that such illegal diesel operations were costing the State a huge amount of revenue.
Not only were they depriving the state of tax revenue, but officers revealed the waste or sludge cost a considerable amount of money to clean up.
Gangs who dumped this sludge left behind from illegal diesel plants cost the Government €3.4 million behind 2003 and 2011, officer Murray told the court.
The sludge, which was often just dumped at the side of the road, had to be shipped to Germany to be disposed of.
The court also heard how such illegal diesel had a long-term damaging effect on thousands of cars which used the diesel each year.
Logan, who had studied engineering at University of Ulster, claims he was only being paid €30 a day to drive a lorry to the plant.
Judge John O’Hagan compared illegal diesel plants to grow houses which were cultivating cannabis across the country.
He said it was often the case that many gardeners were looking after the plants but the Mr Bigs were never caught.
“This operation is carried on by serious criminals who are in for the quick buck and are depriving revenue of any taxes they might raise from diesel.
“People involved in this operation are unscrupulous – although they remove dye – the acids remain in the by-product and this does untold damage to people’s engines. I have seen with my own eyes the damages it does to people’s engines,” said Judge O’Hagan.
He added that Logan was an intelligent man who knew exactly what he was doing at the illegal plant.
He said if he had pleaded not guilty he would have given him the maximum penalty of 5 years in prison.
“I believe this is such a serious offence that a message has to be sent out that it is a crime that will attract a custodial sentence,” he said.
He sentenced Logan to two years in prison.
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