Detailed role of nine members of fuel fraud gang

It was revealed last week that nine people were sentenced for a Shankill Road-based scam which saw 4.5 million litres of red diesel laundered in a crime worth over £2.6 million in lost taxes. they were;-1. Robert Clarke
By The Newsroom
Published 16th Jan 2017, 09:19 BST
Updated 16th Jan 2017, 09:42 BST
The shed of Derek Stevenson from Gortnagallon Road, Crumlin, Co Antrim was used to launder the red diesel.The shed of Derek Stevenson from Gortnagallon Road, Crumlin, Co Antrim was used to launder the red diesel.
The shed of Derek Stevenson from Gortnagallon Road, Crumlin, Co Antrim was used to launder the red diesel.

(DOB 26/12/1951) from Dundrod Road, Crumlin, was given a two year prison sentence. Clarke will serve 12 months in custody, the second year of his sentence will be served on licence. He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing in November 2016 to the fraudulent evasion of Excise Duty.

2. Mark Pollock

(DOB 28/01/1979), from Lyndhurst Grove, Belfast, was sentenced to two years and eight months prison. Pollock will serve 16 months in custody and the remaining 16 months on licence. He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing in November 2016 to the fraudulent evasion of Excise Duty and possession of criminal property, contrary to S329(1) of the Proceeds Of Crime Act 2002.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The other gang members involved in the fraud and previously sentenced were:

3. Billy George

(DOB 08/07/1969) from Glenwood View, Poleglass, Dunmurry, was involved in the day-to-day fuel laundering activities including transportation of the laundered fuel. He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, suspended for three years, when he appeared at Laganside Crown Court on Tuesday, October 4 2016. He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing in September 2016 to the fraudulent evasion of Excise Duty.

4. Paul Keenan

(DOB 21/12/1968) from Creeslough Park, Belfast, was involved in the day-to-day fuel laundering activities including transportation of the laundered fuel. He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, suspended for three years on Monday 3 October 2016. He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing in September 2016 to the fraudulent evasion of Excise Duty.

5. Rachel McKeown

(DOB 15/01/1970) from Carntogher Road, Lisburn, Co. Down, as office clerk, aided in giving the conspiracy a veneer of legitimacy by creating false accounts and paperwork in an attempt to hide the true destination of the red diesel purchased by Clarke Fuels. She was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years at Laganside Crown Court on Monday, June 27. McKeown pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing in June 2016 to having knowingly or recklessly made or signed declarations, on documents, contrary to section 167(1)(a) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979.

6. Alan McVeigh

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

(DOB 15/11/1982) from Forthriver Way, Belfast, operated a filing station on the Crumlin Road on behalf of the gang and was selling laundered fuel as legitimate road diesel. He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, suspended for three years at Laganside Crown Court on Monday, October 3 2016. On June 21, 2011 HMRC officers entered a filling station in Belfast and carried out tests on the fuel. The road diesel on sale was found to be laundered red diesel. McVeigh was arrested and interviewed. He pleaded guilty at a hearing in September to the fraudulent evasion of Excise Duty.

7. Tracey O’Neill

(DOB 24/09/1976) from Gortgonis Road, Coalisland, Dungannon, as bookkeeper, she aided in giving the conspiracy a veneer of legitimacy by creating false accounts and paperwork in an attempt to hide the true destination of the red diesel purchased by Clarke Fuels. She was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, suspended for three years at Laganside Crown Court on Friday, October 7 2016. She pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing in September 2016 to the fraudulent evasion of Excise Duty.

8. Derek Stevenson

(DOB 01/11/1961) from Gortnagallon Road, Crumlin, Co. Antrim, provided a shed at his home in the Gortnagallon Road area to launder the red diesel. He was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for three years at Laganside Crown Court on Monday, October 3 2016. He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing in April 2016 to the fraudulent evasion of Excise Duty.

9. Ian Thompson

(DOB 16/03/1959) from Ballykennedy Road, Crumlin, provided a site for laundering fuel at Ballykennedy, Road Crumlin and assisted in the disposal of laundered waste. He was sentenced to a total of eleven years in prison, suspended for three years, at Laganside Crown Court on Monday, October 3 2016. He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing in September 2016 to:

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

• One charge of fraudulent evasion of Excise Duty contrary to Section 170 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979

• Two charges of fraudulent evasion or attempted evasion of excise duty and Value Added Tax chargeable on goods, contrary to the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979

• Two charges under The Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997.

Related topics:Belfast