A two-part legal proceeding moved closer to conclusion yesterday (5 December), when three men were ordered to pay £142,145 at Basildon Crown Court, for their part in what has been described as the ‘biggest criminal network to be uncovered and prosecuted by the Environment Agency’.

As part of the ‘most complex legal action ever taken by the Environment Agency’ a total of 11 men and five companies will be prosecuted for their part in exporting broken electronics to Nigeria, Ghana and Pakistan.

The group, including Orient Export Limited, Reliance Export Limited and Ady’s Skips,was found to have exported 450 tonnes of WEEE, including hazardous televisions, environmentally damaging fridges and old computers, while making money by claiming to be using the waste responsibly.

The legal process undertaken by the EA against the exporters was split into two parts as a result of its complexity. In November 2011, five men and three companies were ordered to pay a total of £78,000 in fines, costs and confiscations.

This means that as of yesterday, fines totaling in excess of £220,000 have been levelled against the group, with two defendants awaiting sentencing whilst a third remains unaccounted for.

National Environmental Crime Team Manager, Andy Higham, said: “This is the biggest waste exports case the Environment Agency has taken and confirms the legal position on exporting electronic waste to developing countries.

“Sending hazardous waste to developing countries is unacceptable. Our Environmental Crime Teams will continue to track down and stop those who risk damaging people’s health and the environment.”

These prosecutions are a result of a two-year investigation, Operation Boron, conducted by the National Environmental Crime Team following ‘reports of illegal waste being sent overseas’.

In conjunction with the HMRC, police, and Nigerian and Belgian authorities, the EA discovered a dozen 40-foot containers housing hazardous electric waste, eight of which were intercepted at Felixstowe and Tilbury, whilst the remaining four were returned to the UK from Belgium.

The investigation led to arrests in 2009 and the beginning of court proceedings in 2010. It found that WEEE had been ‘collected from civic amenity sites and unsuspecting businesses across the UK’ and sent to Lagos, Nigeria.

However, following the interception of a further two containers in September 2012, it became clear that a number of the defendants were continuing to export their illegal goods in full knowledge that their previous shipment had been halted.

Investigating Officer for Operation Boron, Jeff Warburton, said: “This has been a long and complex investigation to bring to book criminals who have flouted the law, risking people’s health in developing countries and undercutting legitimate recycling businesses in the UK.

“Working in partnership with the authorities in Nigeria and Belgium we have successfully stopped these illegal exporters. But we won’t stop there - we will continue to track down environmental criminals.”

According to the EA the defendants faced a total of 39 charges relating to the shipping of hazardous waste and WEEE to developing countries, ‘in breach of the Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations 2007 and the European Waste Shipment Regulation 2006’.

Read more about preventing illegal waste export