Two men have been arrested for illegally dumping waste across England, the Environment Agency has announced.
In a joint raid earlier this week (Tuesday 20 January), Environment Agency officers worked with the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit to arrest two individuals – aged 44 and 49 – from the Sale and Rochdale areas.
After being interviewed, the suspects have been released pending further investigation and evidence gathered during the arrests will support action going forward.
This action forms a vital part of a large-scale, active investigation into waste crime, fraud, and money laundering by the Environment Agency. This investigation has previously seen the arrest of five people across England.
Emma Viner, Enforcement and Investigations Manager at the Environment Agency, said
“These arrests send a simple message to waste criminals – we will stop you.
“With local police forces, we have been working non-stop to progress our investigation and bring an end to this inexcusable criminal activity.”
Detective Chief Inspector Kelly Wild from the NWROCU’s Operations Team said
“This investigation demonstrates how vital it is for enforcement agencies and regulators to work side by side.
“We will continue to support organisations like the Environment Agency as they pursue those responsible for waste crime, fraud and money laundering. Criminal networks operating in this area can expect to be uncovered, disrupted, and prevented from causing further harm.”
In 2024, the Environment Agency launched a new Economic Crime Unit to boost its efforts to tackle money laundering and carry out financial investigations in the waste sector. These arrests mark another vital step in the unit’s work to ensure those working in waste management do the right thing and waste criminals are rooted out of the sector.
If a member of the public has any information that may assist with this investigation, they should call the Environment Agency’s 24-hour hotline on 0800 807060. They can also report it anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or the Crimestoppers website.