IRA fuel smuggling ‘drove oil giants to abandon Ulster’

Fuel smuggling by the IRA has contributed to major oil companies pulling out of Northern Ireland, it was claimed yesterday.

Esso, BP and Shell no longer directly own filling stations in Ulster, where police believe cross-border fuel smuggling and illegal selling of treated diesel is rife.

Less than 48 hours before the body monitoring IRA activity publishes its next report, the Petrol Retailers’ Association claimed that “gangland” fuel smuggling had had a bearing on the commercial decisions made by oil companies.

The trade is estimated to be worth