has anyone ever had (or heard of) there fuel tank dipped by customs officers getting on and off the ferry by any chance 
Boss & Driver:
has anyone ever had (or heard of) there fuel tank dipped by customs officers getting on and off the ferry by any chance
yes. fleetwood docks.
Used to happen quite often at Dover.
Ramsgate used to be pretty thorough on the customs front when I used to ship through there. I got stopped virtually every time coming in there, they used to crawl all over my fridge whenever I came in there, they’d be checking for hidden compartments, dip the tank, shine torches everywhere, the whole hog! I mentioned this to another driver working for the same outfit who happened to mention that one of the subbies who had the trailer before me (I was employed by the company itself) got caught shifting some contraband in it once, and given that it was only sign written down one side, was quite a distinctive trailer. Only got stopped once after getting a new trailer.
Point is, the customs shed was always full, and they checked quite a few coming off the boat everytime - including dipping the tanks. All the seized vehicles from Ramsgate & Dover used to be stored in a compound behind the terminal building as well - (It was always full).
I’m not sure how true it was, but someone once told me that the customs search teams used to use Ramsgate docks as their training school
They used to dip us anywhere, even at the road side if they spotted a belly tank.
I was even followed into my yard one Saturday afternoon and the customs told me exactly where I had bought my white diesel from. It was actually Brownie coloured from Greece with Russian origins
Had it a few times at Irish ferries in Dublin Port …
Mind you they were ■■■■■■ of at the anti syhpon tanks …
I see…
this sounds quite interesting but worrying
Derf:
they used to crawl all over my fridge whenever I came in there, they’d be checking for hidden compartments, dip the tank, shine torches everywhere, the whole hog!
so your saying they dont just dip the tank they go right through the truck or van checking everything
jimboy124:
Mind you they were ■■■■■■ of at the anti syhpon tanks …
was this on a truck or van? and what did they do then after that
I was led to belive that you can buy fuel in any countory and bring it back with you in your tank so long as its a standard tank and no add on’s like a belly tank
so if I bough kerosene in france and filled my tank with it and brought it back through UK customs, would that be OK?
It was on a truck, I am led to believe that there “red” diesel is " green"
Does that make sense? 
Boss & Driver:
I see…
this sounds quite interesting but worryingDerf:
they used to crawl all over my fridge whenever I came in there, they’d be checking for hidden compartments, dip the tank, shine torches everywhere, the whole hog!
so your saying they dont just dip the tank they go right through the truck or van checking everything
quote]
They were inside the trailer tapping the walls for compartments even though I warned them that it might be a tad cold in there (I had frozen on one time)! Torches in the diesel tanks on both the unit and fridge.
Customs have very quick and easy chemistry sets in the back of their vans, they can analyse whats in your tank before you’ve screwed the cap back on!
If you’re smuggling anything you should be paying duty on in your tank, they’ll spot it if your dipped!
The x-ray scanners they use these days don’t miss much either. Not sure if they’re still there, but they used to have some cracking x-ray pics in the waiting room for the scanner at Folkestone. Not only do they show assorted cats, clandestines etc, it also shows their bones and organs. There was one of a hand gun hidden in a spare wheel, not only did it show the gun inside the tyre, it also showed the bullets in the magazine in the handle as well as the component parts inside the bullets. They show the pistons and inner gubbins of the engine deep inside the engine block as well. God knows how powerful the X-rays are, but I’m glad I never stayed in the cab while they scanned it!
jimboy124:
It was on a truck, I am led to believe that there “red” diesel is " green"Does that make sense?
no! I am unaware of ant syphon tanks on trucks
Derf:
Torches in the diesel tanks on both the unit and fridge.
so they could tell if you had a dummy bluf tank inside the tank its self
Derf:
They show the pistons and inner gubbins of the engine deep inside the engine block as well. God knows how powerful the X-rays are, but I’m glad I never stayed in the cab while they scanned it!
good god 
Do they have x-ray at Dover?
Douanes at cherbourg used to always be dippping the tanks, don’t know if they still do as not shipped there in about 5 years now.
Boss & Driver:
Do they have x-ray at Dover?
yes
Boss & Driver:
I see…
this sounds quite interesting but worrying
What is worrying? Unless you intend smuggling of course.
Boss & Driver:
Derf:
they used to crawl all over my fridge whenever I came in there, they’d be checking for hidden compartments, dip the tank, shine torches everywhere, the whole hog!so your saying they dont just dip the tank they go right through the truck or van checking everything
Yes, they can and frequently do.
Boss & Driver:
jimboy124:
Mind you they were ■■■■■■ of at the anti syhpon tanks …was this on a truck or van? and what did they do then after that
Boss & Driver:
I was led to belive that you can buy fuel in any countory and bring it back with you in your tank so long as its a standard tank and no add on’s like a belly tank
so if I bough kerosene in france and filled my tank with it and brought it back through UK customs, would that be OK?
You can buy duty paid road fuel in any country and bring it back in your tank.
Kerosene wouldn’t be duty paid road fuel, therefore it would not be OK.
Derf:
God knows how powerful the X-rays are, but I’m glad I never stayed in the cab while they scanned it!
We used to move the big scanner trucks around all over the world, they don’t use radiation, it’s something called a linear accelerator 
jj72:
Derf:
God knows how powerful the X-rays are, but I’m glad I never stayed in the cab while they scanned it!We used to move the big scanner trucks around all over the world, they don’t use radiation, it’s something called a linear accelerator
Is that the same for the shed at the tunnel?
La Linea in Spain to get in and out of Gibraltar used to be a pain,they would measure how much was in the tank before you go in,and pay the difference on the way back to Spain,or pay a fine,as Gib fuel was much cheaper,for some reason the whole world and his dog would flock to Gib to fill the car boots with sugar bags,that were very cheap.
In the 90`s,you would see young lads in expensive sports cars,who had ran the gauntlet with the link from North Africa with overnight shipments,they got rich very quickly,using RIB craft.It all got a bit nasty with the Guarda using machine guns and helicopter chases.
toby1234abc:
La Linea in Spain to get in and out of Gibraltar used to be a pain,they would measure how much was in the tank before you go in,and pay the difference on the way back to Spain,or pay a fine,as Gib fuel was much cheaper,for some reason the whole world and his dog would flock to Gib to fill the car boots with sugar bags,that were very cheap.
In the 90`s,you would see young lads in expensive sports cars,who had ran the gauntlet with the link from North Africa with overnight shipments,they got rich very quickly,using RIB craft.It all got a bit nasty with the Guarda using machine guns and helicopter chases.
Oooh pull up a sandbag lads Toby has skipped his medication again, he will be mentioning Cherry Berets in a min 
I found this news item regarding the x -ray machines in use by UKBA French ban X-ray scans for illegal immigrants as radiation makes them 'too dangerous' | Daily Mail Online
tommy t:
I found this news item regarding the x -ray machines in use by UKBA French ban X-ray scans for illegal immigrants as radiation makes them 'too dangerous' | Daily Mail Online
That’s their problem as far as I’m concerned.
If they hadn’t illegally hidden themselves in my trailer, with the intention of illegally entering my country, they wouldn’t be likely to subject themselves to dangerous X-Rays.