Two company directors in Northern Ireland have been jailed for their roles in running one of the largest illegal dumps in Europe.
A judge at Derry Crown Court today described their actions as an environmental crime on an industrial scale.
The vast Mobuoy dump outside Derry is thought to cover more than 100 acres of land, or the size of about 70 football pitches.
It is located beside the River Faughan, which supplies a large proportion of Derry’s drinking water.
Paul Doherty, 67, a director of Campsie Sand and Gravel Ltd, from Culmore Road in Derry pleaded guilty to seven waste offences between 2007 and 2013 and was sentenced to 12 months in custody on each count, to run concurrently.
His co-accused, 56-year-old Gerard Farmer, a director of City Industrial Waste Ltd, from Westlake in Derry, pleaded guilty to three offences and was sentenced to 21 months in custody on each count, to run concurrently.
Sentencing the defendants, the judge said they had acted deliberately and had been “entirely motivated by financial gain”.
“The time has long passed where those who commit environmental crime motivated by greed can expect to walk free from the consequences of their actions,” he added.
The court was told that the amount of waste illegally disposed of at the site could potentially have generated £30 million (€35.6 million) for Doherty’s company, Campsie Sand & Gravel Ltd.
It was also stated that Farmer’s company, City Industrial Waste Ltd, potentially generated £13m. Sentencing of the company, which pleaded guilty to three offences, was deferred to a later date as part of the Proceeds of Crime process.
The sentences have been welcomed by Stormont’s Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Andrew Muir.
“This was an abhorrent environmental crime of unprecedented proportions carried out over many years as part of a deliberate and sophisticated operation by criminals seeking to profit from the illegal disposal of controlled waste,” Mr Muir said.
“Despite the complexity, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency worked with the Public Prosecution Service to build a case against the defendants, who pled guilty in the face of the evidence presented.”
