Government announces tougher measures to tackle unlicensed sites as ‘prolific waste criminal’ is ordered to pay £1.4m
A new 33-strong drone unit is being deployed to investigate the scourge of illegal waste dumping across England, the government has announced.
The improvements to the investigation of illegal waste dumping – which costs the UK economy £1bn a year – come as the ringleader of a major waste crime gang was ordered to pay £1.4m after being convicted at Birmingham crown court.
Varun Datta, 36, from London, was responsible for the organised illegal dumping of mostly municipal waste at a network of 16 sites across the country, including at a historic manor house and a nature reserve in Lancashire.
Datta – described as a “prolific waste criminal” – was given a four-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to pay £1.1m, reflecting the financial benefit from his crimes, plus £100,000 in compensation and £200,000 in prosecution costs.
