Malachy Augustine Higgins, 61, has already served a four-month prison sentence this year for taking in waste without a licence to do so at his Craigmore Landfill Site in County Londonderry.
If Mr Higgins fails to hand over the profits by October, he could go to prison for three years – and would still have to pay £400,000 when he finishes his sentence.
ARA
The Confiscation Order came in a case brought by the Assets Recovery Agency, which works to obtain any assets resulting from criminal activities under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The ARA was working with the Environment and Heritage Service and the Public Prosecution Service of Northern Ireland to prosecute Mr Higgins.
Commenting on the Confiscation Order, ARA deputy director operations, Charlie Dickin said: “EHS referred this case to ARA and has worked closely with us to provide the information needed to convince the Crown Court that this man has benefited from his particular criminal conduct, and that the proceeds of his crime should therefore be confiscated.
“This defendant's conviction, custodial sentence and the amount of his confiscation order sends out a clear message to those involved in any form of serious and organised criminal activity that ARA together with its partners will do everything in its power to put them out of business,” Mr Dickin said.
Conviction
The conviction came over a one count of keeping and disposing of illegal waste at the site at Craigmore Road, near Garvagh, and a further count of breach of the water discharge consent for the site.
Mr Higgins, who lives in Coleraine, was originally granted a waste disposal licence by Coleraine borough council in September 1996 for the Craigmore Landfill, but repeated offences led to the licence being revoked in February 2003.
He then appealed the loss of his licence, and was able to continue taking in waste until the appeal was denied in September 2003. Following his conviction, the responsibility for removing the waste from the land remains with the defendant, however in this instance Craigmore Landfill Site has been sold to a new owner.
We are determined to rid society of those with parasitic lifestyles who are intent on feeding off our community
Charlie Dickin, Assets Recovery Agency
Mr Dickin said: “I am delighted as this is the fourth case of illegal dumping where ARA has worked with EHS resulting in a total of £845,120 in Confiscation Orders being granted. We are determined to rid society of those with parasitic lifestyles who are intent on feeding off our community.
“It is further evidence of the effectiveness of a multi-agency approach within the Organised Crime Task Force in tackling serious and organised crime in Northern Ireland,” added Mr Dickin.
Illegal profits
The EHS believes the illegal deposit of waste in Northern Ireland is “extremely profitable” to those involved because of the disparity in disposal costs in the Republic of Ireland. This disparity can average between €220-€350 per tonne (£160 to £260 per tonne), with landfill charges in Northern Ireland typically £30 to £50 per tonne.
EHS trade sources indicate that hauliers engaged in this illegal transport charge waste facilities in the Republic of Ireland €120 (£90) per tonne to take this type of waste away. The waste facility therefore benefits in the region of between €100-€230 (£75 – £170) per tonne of waste, and the haulier splits the €120 per tonne he has charged with the landowner whose land is used for illegal landfill.
EHS further states that trade sources indicate the landowner receives between £5 and £10 (i.e. €7.50 to €15), per tonne of waste.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Environment in Northern Ireland said: “This serves to illustrate the scale of illegal earnings that can be made from waste. Criminality involving waste not only pollutes our environment, but prevents genuine law-abiding waste businesses from being able to succeed in NI. We will continue to use confiscation powers to remove benefit from such criminal activity.”
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