The Environment Agency has revealed it has taken its "most significant" action yet against suspected illegal exports of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) to Africa, with raids on sites in east London and Essex on Friday (June 5).

The Agency revealed that more than 100 of its personnel were joined by officers from the Metropolitan and Essex police services in the operation, which saw them swoop on an industrial site in Rainham and a farm near Upminster.

Containers opened during the joint Environment Agency and police raids on Friday (June 5) were found to be packed with WEEE apparently set to be exported to Africa

EA teams used bolt-cutters and steel grinders to gain access to 500 storage and shipping containers at the sites, and found many of them were packed with WEEE which they suspected was destined for Africa.

Around 50 people were questioned in the raids, and stop notices were placed on shipping containers to prevent them from being moved, with EA officers now set to gather evidence at the two sites to determine the source of the WEEE.

A spokesman for the Agency told letsrecycle.com that they were not currently able to name the owners of the sites raided, explaining that: "They rent out the containers so until we investigate it further we wouldn't want to name the companies for legal reasons."

Commenting on the raids, the EA's national enforcement service project manager, Chris Smith, said: "The Environment Agency is stepping up efforts to stop electrical waste being illegally sent abroad.

"Our investigations have found that the majority of this equipment is beyond repair and is being stripped down for raw materials under appalling conditions in Africa. But the law is clear - electrical waste must be recycled in the UK, not sent to developing countries in Africa where unsafe dismantling puts human health and the environment at risk.

"The Environment Agency has created a national team to stamp out this illegal trade and strong intelligence work has resulted in today's operation - the most significant action to date in investigating suspected electrical waste being shipped to Africa," he added.

It is illegal to export electrical equipment that is not fit for reuse to Africa, and the EA said it was "hopeful" that Friday's raids would lead to charges being brought under the Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations.

Anyone found guilty of illegally exporting waste abroad could face up to two years in jail and an unlimited fine.

The issue of WEEE being illegally exported to Africa has already hit the headlines this year, after was claimed that broken electrical equipment left at a Hampshire civic amenity site was being incorrectly classed as fit for reuse and exported to Nigeria (see letsrecycle.com story).

The Metropolitan police made one arrest during the operation on immigration matters.