Gardai, customs and council carry out checks
By Maurice Garvey
MULTI-agency checkpoints continued this week at Kylemore Road/Labre Park.
The Echo was invited to observe the operation on Monday between 2pm and 3pm, which involved gardai, customs officials and Dublin City Council.
Multi-agency checkpoint on Kylemore Road
The checks followed on from similar multi-agency operations in the area last week.
Cars were checked for documentation, customs carried out random checks for illegal fuel, and the city council inspected commercial vehicles for waste.
Legally, vehicles are required to have a licence to transport waste and rubbish, and face fines and court appearances if found to be in violation of the law.
The checkpoint in Kylemore on Monday resulted in just one detection during the course of the hour, that of a Mercedes, which was seized for no tax and NCT.
Inspector Ronan Barry, Ballyfermot Garda Station, acknowledged Monday’s operation was “very quiet from a detection perspective”, but said the “purpose is more about letting the public know that we are conducting multi-agency checkpoints.”
Customs checks for illegal fuel involves a test sample taken from the tank using a tube device.
A customs officer carrying out checks for illegal fuel
While it is not illegal to sell Green Diesel, it is illegal to use it to fuel on road vehicles.
Custom officials say the practice is more prevalent in rural areas, and cheaper, available at between 75c to 95c per litre compared to approximately 140c per litre.
Green Diesel is generally used for heating or refrigerated systems.
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