Men made over £2.7m from illegal dumping
TWO men made more than £2.7m from an operation that saw them illegally dumping lorry loads of waste and trying to bury it to avoid being caught.
In the spring of 2016, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) were tipped off that large lorries containing controlled waste were travelling back and forth to a former works site in Resolven in the Neath Valley.
NRW officers began carrying out surveillance and soon saw large vehicles depositing waste at the former Rheola Works site, owned by R M Rees Contractors Ltd. In addition, large excavators were burying the waste in deep trenches and then flattening the ground so that it could not be seen.
During investigations, piles of rubbish were discovered, including rotting household waste from the Swansea and Carmarthen areas, finely shredded plastics and coarsely shredded oily vehicle parts.
Some waste, including oily scrapyard waste and clinical waste, was discovered buried up to four metres deep.
The clinical waste was traced to a hospital trust in South East Wales, and it contained syringes with needles still attached and shredded orange infectious bags, while some of the waste also contained asbestos.
Investigations by NRW officers also led them to Pentwyn Farm in Skewen, where it was discovered that hundreds of lorry loads carrying huge loads of waste had been transported from scrapyards in Birmingham.
There were no environmental permits or waste exemptions in place at any of these locations.
Howard Geary Rees of Rheola, Resolven, and Eurid Huw Leyshon, of Pentwyn Farm, Skewen, pleaded guilty to a series of illegal waste offences and were ordered to pay more than £175,000 and handed suspended prison sentences at Swansea Crown Court.
The court heard that the defendants’ criminal activities earned them more than £1.4m and £1.2m respectively.
Rees, director of R M Rees Contractors
Ltd, was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and was given a community order to complete 100 hours of unpaid work for five offences.
Proceeds of Crime proceedings were also concluded against Mr Rees.
The court found that the criminal benefit gained from his criminal activities totalled £1,405,933, but only £66,841.77 was available for confiscation, which he has been ordered to pay within three months.
He was given a default sentence of eight months’ imprisonment if he fails to pay.
Leyshon was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, for two offences, and given a community order to complete 80 hours of unpaid work.
Proceeds of Crime proceedings were also concluded against Mr Leyshon.
The court found that the criminal benefit gained from his criminal activities totalled £1,296,197.80 and his available amount for confiscation was £108,313.14, which he has been ordered to pay within three months.
He was given a default sentence of 12 months’ imprisonment if he fails to pay.
Martyn Evans, south west area manager for NRW, said: “We hope the outcome of this case will send out a positive message to those who seek to profit by breaking the law that Natural Resources Wales will not tolerate harming local communities or damaging the environment.
“The impact of these activities went beyond the boundaries of the defendants’ land and affected the wider area.
“Disposing of waste illegally undermines businesses that invest in the required measures, and so it is essential that we take action in such cases to protect people and the environment, as well as safeguarding the marketplace for legitimate operators.”