Gang convicted for causing £3.2M damage operating illegal waste dumping sites
Environment Agency investigation sees three individuals plead guilty for abandoning 26,000 tonnes of waste.
Three individuals have been convicted for large-scale waste dumping across the UK.
On 18 and 26 July, Marcus Hughes, 53, Richard Hopkinson, 52, and Robert McDonagh, 51, plead guilty to a number of environmental, company, and fraud offences at Birmingham Crown Court.
These convictions are the result of the Environment Agency’s ‘Operation Cesium’ - an investigation into illegal fly-tipping at 17 sites across Liverpool, Lancashire, Staffordshire, the West Midlands, Shropshire, Yorkshire, and Humberside.
Emma Viner, Environment Agency (EA) Enforcement and Investigations Manager, commented on the inspections: “Operation Cesium was a complex investigation into large-scale waste dumps across the country by a gang who spared little thought for their victims and the environmental, financial and health impacts they caused.”
The investigation revealed that more than 26,000 tonnes of waste was illegally deposited across the sites.
The convicted individuals executed their scheme by entering rental or lease agreements with owners of land, farms, industrial units, and, in one instance, an operational airfield under the false pretence of providing temporary storage facilities. Baled household and business waste was then deposited and abandoned at these sites.
Waste was also deserted in owned but unused sites which the prosecuted individuals forcibly entered.
‘Security officers’ in hi-vis clothing were posted at site entrances in order to make the operation appear more legitimate.
The EA has estimated that the offenders avoided more than £2.7 million of landfill tax costs and imposed an estimated £3.2 million in clean-up expenses on landowners.
Victims of the criminal activity also incurred a number of other impacts, including fly and rat infestation which forced nearby businesses to close, environmental violations, health problems, and larger impacts on neighbouring communities.
A 2023 survey conducted by the EA suggested that 85 per cent of landowners and farmers reported being affected by small-scale fly-tipping, while 20 per cent experienced large-scale waste dumping on their properties.
Viner added: “We take our responsibility to protect people and the environment seriously, whether by stopping large-scale dumping or making life harder for criminals by disrupting illegal activity through tough and decisive action.”
Sentencing for Hughes, Hopkinson, and McDonagh is scheduled for 17 and 18 December at Birmingham Crown Court.
