A company boss has been handed a suspended prison sentence and must repay £1.4 million after illegally dumping 4,275 tonnes of waste across England.
A nationwide investigation by the Environment Agency uncovered a network of 16 illegal dumping sites connected to Varun Datta, 36, stretching from the northeast to the south coast.
Datta was sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for 18 months, after pleading guilty at Birmingham Crown Court. The Judge branded the offences ‘reckless’.
The Court ordered him to repay £1.1 million as part of a confiscation order, £100,000 in compensation, and £200,000 in prosecution costs. He must also complete 30 days rehabilitation and 200 hours of unpaid work.
Commenting on the sentence, Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said: “This is a shocking case of illegal waste dumping, orchestrated by a group of shameless crooks who thought they could operate above the law.”
“I welcome the punishments secured by the Environment Agency, which send a clear message to criminals that they have nowhere to hide.”
Two other men were prosecuted as part of the case, with one being fined and the other facing a suspended sentence, rehabilitation and unpaid work. Warrants for the arrest of two other men are still active.
Datta became a registered waste broker through his company, Atkins Recycling Ltd, in 2015. He claimed that the waste the company handled was being sent to a legal site at Kiveton Park, near Sheffield.
However, the waste was actually diverted to unlicensed dumps around the country. The majority of the loads dumped were mixed municipal waste wrapped in plastic to form bales.
No environmental permit or valid exemption was in place at any of the sites, which were spread across Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Lancashire, Kent, Surrey, Rutland and Middlesborough.
As part of the compensation, Middlesborough Council will receive £70,000 towards the cost of cleaning up the waste, while £30,000 will be awarded to the Lancashire Wildlife Trust for the future management of the Middleton Nature Reserve.
Emma Viner, Enforcement and Investigations Manager in the Environment Agency’s National Environmental Crime Unit, commented: “We are glad to see the perpetrators brought to justice in this appalling case.”
“Despite their attempts to conceal their criminality, our in-depth investigation spanning the length and breadth of the country ultimately uncovered those responsible.”
