West Yorkshire fuel fraudster jailed

Thursday, 5 July 2018 16:00

A West Yorkshire oil dealer has been jailed for three and a half years for selling potentially harmful illegally laundered fuel to unsuspecting customers.

An investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) revealed how Anthony Knight, 60, of Styes Lane, Sowerby Bridge, operated an illegal fuel laundering plant capable of evading £1.6 million in duty a year.

The fraud was uncovered when officers visited his business, Manor Oil Company Ltd, on Buckstones Road, Oldham, in August 2016, and found the laundering plant in an outbuilding. Knight told HMRC the unit was rented by a man named Tom, but investigations revealed this was a lie.

Storage tanks, equipment and 2,500 litres of red diesel were seized from the unit. Officers also found 24 tonnes of silica gel, which is used to strip the government markers from the diesel. A forensic expert estimated the silica gel would be able to launder approximately 1,000,000 litres of red diesel.

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