Serial waste dumper ordered to pay £1.4m for crimes across England
Prosecution uncovers extensive illegal waste network
A notorious waste criminal has been sentenced to pay over £1.4 million after illegally disposing of more than 4,000 tonnes of waste across multiple sites in England.
The Environment Agency's nationwide investigation revealed a chain of 16 illegal dumping sites from the South East to the North West.
Varun Datta, 36, of Belgravia, has been ordered to pay £1.1 million as profit from his unlawful activities, alongside £100,000 in damages and £200,000 in legal costs.
Sites contaminated included a farm near Peterborough, a manor house in Ewhurst, Surrey, and a warehouse in Margate, Kent.
Datta received a four-month suspended prison sentence, along with 30 days of rehabilitation and 200 hours of community service.
The investigation also led to two others being prosecuted.
Mohammed Saraji Bashir from Peterborough and Robert McAllister from Northwood, London, received suspended sentences and fines respectively.
The Environment Agency uncovered numerous locations impacted by Datta's operations, notably:
- relawny House, Farcet, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
- Yaxley Lodge Farm, Yaxley, Cambridgeshire
- Conquest Drove, Farcet, Cambridgeshire
- Unit P, Westwood Business Park, Margate, Kent
- Somersbury Manor, Ewhurst, Cranleigh, Surrey
- The Drift, Sewstern, Grantham, Lincolnshire
- Stockenhall Farm, Stretton, Rutland
- Humby Mills Farm, Grantham, Lincolnshire
- Sycamore Farm, Lower Bassingthorpe, Grantham, Lincolnshire
- Peacock Farm, Muston, Leicestershire
- Lime Tree Farm, Thorney, Lincolnshire
- Gill Bridge Farm, Boston, Lincolnshire
- The Limes, Spalding, Lincolnshire
- The Former Sulzer Dowding Mills Factory, Middlesbrough
- Middleton Nature Reserve, Heysham, Lancashire
- Rhyddings Mill, Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire
Emma Viner from the Environment Agency remarked on the relentless efforts to combat waste crime, and Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds hailed the verdict as a warning to other offenders.
Anyone with information on illegal waste activities can contact the Environment Agency or Crimestoppers.