UK Gang Charged with Asbestos Dumping

Eight members of a criminal gang were arrested for illicit asbestos dumping in the County Durham area of northeast England. Area law enforcement officials conducted early-morning raids on several homes and businesses in the area and confiscated numerous vehicles, including a backhoe and an equipment trailer. Agents with the country’s environmental protection agency used a backhoe to dig up the asbestos at a rock quarry near the town of Lanchester.

The agency representative for the area, Julian Carrington, stated that the criminal enterprise showed many of the hallmarks of a major undertaking. Of the eight men arrested, seven were held on suspicion of conspiracy to engage in illegal dumping. The eighth suspect was held on suspicion of arson. The men arrested on the illegal dumping charges could face up to five years in prison and extremely high fines if they are convicted. The suspects may also face charges of animal cruelty, as investigators found seven guard dogs tied up near a portable storage shed.

County Durham Deputy Chief Constable Mike Barton said that this series of raids is only the beginning of his department’s efforts to eliminate criminal gangs and their operations, especially those that use legitimate business as a front. He also said that the operation concentrated on those businesses that dealt with illegal toxic waste dumping, including asbestos, as well as auto salvage yards that can create their own environmental hazards. Constable Barton also mentioned the intelligence on the criminal activities that his office received from residents of the surrounding communities.

The chairman of the local police authority, Peter Thompson, said that the local residents “welcomed and applauded” the actions taken by law enforcement officers in shutting down the dangerous dumping activities around their properties. The operation behind the raids required nearly a year of planning and targeted twelve sites in the area, including several homes, a scrap yard and a farm.

After authorities secured the sites, workers with the country's environmental agency came onto the scene in order to start with a series of efforts to find out precisely what materials had been disposed of and covered up. Their excavations uncovered large concentrations of asbestos debris in the topsoil, along with numerous other toxic substances from other illegal disposal projects. Environmental officials called for all workers on the site to receive the proper safety equipment before continuing the excavations.

In recent years, with the alarms in the country over asbestos and the time and expense involved in safe removal, disposal and cleanup techniques, several companies have employed illegal and unsafe methods to deal with the problem of asbestos in older structures. Criminal gangs have stepped in to fill those roles and, according to the agency spokesperson, endanger the environment, the surrounding residents and themselves in these efforts.

Mr. Carrington praised the work done by local law enforcement agencies as they worked in cooperation with his office in uncovering and stopping this illegal and dangerous enterprise. In all, fifty Environmental Agency officers, one hundred fifty law enforcement officers and a team of specially trained dogs carried out the raids.

Sources: The Northern Echo, JournalLive.co.uk

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