Thomas ‘Slab’ Murphy named as key figure in fuel smuggling

Thomas ‘Slab’ Murphy was named as a key figure in the fuel smuggling industry in British government files.

Senior officials in the North were briefed that the ex-IRA chief was benefiting from Border criminality.

Murphy – currently serving an 18-month sentence for tax evasion – amassed a multi-million pound fortune.

A file released by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland shows the Government was fully aware of his crimes for many years – even though it took until 2015 for a court to convict him.

It refers to pressure from Dublin to take action on the illicit fuel industry, said to be costing the Irish Government £45m a year.

Up to one-eighth of Northern Ireland’s total petrol consumption was ending up across the Border, officials in the North had estimated.

They wanted a coloured dye placed in Northern Irish fuel to make it more easily detectable.

Murphy has been roundly praised by Gerry Adams, who described him as a “good republican”.