A new diesel marker has been introduced to tackle fuel fraud.

Ulster Unionist Westminster candidate for Fermanagh & South Tyrone, Tom Elliott has welcomed the news which will apply in both the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

The marker will be almost impossible for fuel launderers to remove.

Mr Elliott MLA said: "Fuel laundering is particularly prevalent in Northern Ireland and the border counties, and is estimated to cost £80 million a year in lost taxes. It also damages the environment, as toxic waste is often dumped in rural areas, leaving local councils and ratepayers to pick up the bill for waste removal.

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"In recent years nearly one third of all illegal fuel sales detected in the UK were in Northern Ireland, and were carried out by organised crime gangs with links to certain republican groups to fund their activities.

"I have long campaigned for this move and hope that this new marker will prove to be effective in closing down this trade completely."

(CD/MH)