A cattle truck with a secret compartment has been seized by custom officers on suspicion of delivering laundered diesel.

And custom officers have appealed to the public to report any incidents of 'washed' diesel being processed or sold because of the environmental risk involved.

Gardaí and custom officers seized the cattle truck in east Galway while it was parked at a retail fuel service station on Friday evening.

Customs officers said the truck was fitted with a concealed compartment.

The compartment ran the full length of the vehicle and was capable of carrying around 6,500 litres of liquid.

The suspected laundered fuel was being discharged from the cattle truck into an underground tank when the customs officers swooped. Two men found on the premises were questioned.

Over 8,600 litres of fuel was removed by the customs service, along with the cattle truck and a car. Two weeks earlier a truck with a secret compartment was found in Donegla and over 6,000 litres of fuel was detained.

A spokesman for the customs service said that laundering or washing of red or green diesel defrauded the State of excise duty and VAT.

But he said that there was also an enormous environmental issue involved with large scale pollution possible as by-products contaminated land and water.

"People need to be aware of the environmental and safety issues surrounding the laundering of diesel. "They need to consider what happens to the waste by-product and the damage caused by contamination to arable land and our waters and rivers.

"Chemicals used during the laundering process remain in the oil and can cause severe damage over a period to vehicle engines and fuel pumps," he said.

He urged members of the public to report suspicious activity.

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