A man has been arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into large-scale, illegal dumping of waste at multiple sites across England, including the notorious Bolton House Road in Wigan.
Officers from West Midlands Police, working in support of the Environment Agency, secured the arrest of the suspect. A 58-year-old male from the Birmingham area was arrested for environmental, fraud and money laundering offences.
The suspect has now been released on conditional bail pending further investigation.
The Environment Agency’s investigation is being led by its National Environmental Crime Unit, which is seeking to find those responsible for the offending and hold them to account.
Ian Crewe, Area Director for Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire at the Environment Agency, said
“The illegal dumping at sites across England are an attack on our communities, and the Environment Agency shares their disgust at these horrendous crimes.
“Our teams have been working relentlessly on this investigation, and yesterday’s arrest are a vital step in collecting new evidence and progressing it further.”
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said
“We are cracking down on waste criminals – putting an end to the damage they cause, by boosting funds to tackle waste crime, putting more boots on the ground and and giving stronger powers to our enforcement teams.
“If you dump waste illegally, we will come after you.”
The Environment Agency has published a 10 Point Plan to tackle waste crime, which outlines how it will act earlier to address illegal activity and deliver more consistent enforcement action.
The Environment Agency will create a new Operational Waste Intelligence and Analysis Unit to hunt down waste criminals using every tool available – from aerial surveillance to financial data – and ensure enforcement is faster and smarter. For the first time, illegal waste operators will be named and shamed with information shared across the waste sector to put waste criminals on notice.
This work supports the delivery of the government’s wider Waste Crime Action Plan, which sets out a zero-tolerance approach to waste crime, including tougher enforcement measures and new powers to equip regulators with the tools the new to stop waste crime in its tracks.
As part of its commitment to restore pride in local communities, the government recently announced it will directly fund the clean-up of the Bolton House Road site in Wigan. Defra officials recently met with local residents to discuss the clean-up plans and carry out further assessments. The government is moving quickly to deliver the waste removal work, and is working alongside partners to appoint contractors through a transparent procurement process.
Robust action has been taken at the Bolton House Road site to ensure no additional waste is dumped illegally. This includes depositing concrete blocks at the entrance of the site by the local authority.
Any information can be reported to the Environment Agency via its 24-hour incident hotline at 0800 807060 or anonymously via CrimeStoppers.