THE Competition Authority has carried out a "dawn raid" on the Irish Road Hauliers Association (IRHA), and is investigating alleged price-fixing by its members, The Irish Times has learned.

Armed with a search warrant, up to five officials swooped on the IRHA's Dublin offices last week, seizing documents and minutes of some earlier meetings of the association.

One source described the raid as, like "a visit from the Gestapo" and said officials spent up to six hours going through its files, some of which was seized.

The Competition Authority, yesterday refused to comment on the investigation.

A spokesman for the IRHA said it had taken legal advice and was unable to comment.

Industry sources believe the raid was conducted on foot of a complaint from one or more shipping companies which have been opposing the association's recent attempts to increase road haulage prices.

Allegations have been made to investigators, there is an orchestrated effort by the IRHA, which has over 1,000 members, to fix higher transport prices.

Recently IRHA chief executive Dr Chris McCormack, wrote to the major shipping companies, warning that hauliers would be forced to withdraw their trucks and services unless they accept higher rates from July 1st.

The shipping companies and distributors are understood to have been very upset at what they saw as an ultimatum, under which the IRHA was proposing increases of up to 50 per cent for some services.

Some feared there would be a port blockage by the hauliers, if their claim for higher prices were resisted.

In its correspondence with the shippers, the hauliers have stressed that the current rates were fixed 10 or 15 years ago and, as such, are currently uneconomical.

These rates, according to Dr McCormack, "have not kept pace with inflation and the increased cost to our members of acquiring and replacing vehicles, while fuel prices, and wages have also risen."

Competition officers are currently examining specific documents, in its search for evidence of alleged price-fixing practices.

Price fixing, whereby businesses agree, however tentatively, on resale prices with their suppliers, competitors, distributors or retailers, is one of the most serious offences in the eyes of the Competition Authority.

Unlawful pricing can lead to jail sentences or up to two years for directors, together with fines of up to 10 per cent of company turnover or £3 million, whichever is lowest.

The "dawn raid" is the second such visit undertaken by the Competition Authority.

It has previously seized documents from the Dublin offices of Opel Ireland, acting on a complaint from a competitor that certain aspects of Opel's "upfront pricing" campaign contravened the Competition Act.

The campaign promised that every Opel dealer would give exactly the same price to prospective customers for its Corsa, Astra and Vectra ranges.

During its investigation, the Competition Authority found a letter from Opel to all dealerships telling them not to discount any more than the "upfront" price and was subsequently forced to change its newspaper advertisements.

The ferry companies have also previously fallen foul of the authority, and last year were fined for fixing the exchange rate for sterling during a period of currency volatility.

Five ferry companies, P&O, Stena, Brittany Ferries, Sea France and North Sea Ferries, were fined a total of £600,000 for allegedly agreeing, among themselves, the basis for the exchange rate.