Two jailed over one of Europe’s largest illegal dumps

Two men have been jailed for what a judge described as “environmental crime on an industrial scale” for their roles in one of Europe’s largest illegal dumps, in Northern Ireland.

Paul Doherty, 67, of Culmore Road, Londonderry, admitted seven charges between 2007 and 2013 relating to the contaminated Mobuoy dump at Campsie, outside Londonderry, and was sentenced to one year in prison.

Co-defendant Gerard Farmer, 56, of Westlake in Derry, pleaded guilty to three charges between 2011 and 2013 and was jailed for 21 months.

The judge at Londonderry Crown Court said both defendants had “acted deliberately” and been “entirely motivated by financial gain”.

The court was told that the amount of waste illegally disposed of could potentially have generated £30m for Doherty’s company, Campsie Sand & Gravel Ltd.

For Farmer’s firm, City Industrial Waste Ltd, the potential sum was more than £13m.

Prosecution lawyers said the case against Doherty and Farmer concerned about 636,000 tonnes of waste including construction and domestic waste.

The Mobuoy dump is beside the River Faughan, which supplies a significant proportion of Derry’s drinking water.

The court was told that no pollution has yet been detected in the river, but that ongoing monitoring will be required, at “significant” cost to the public purse.

The dump consists of two parcels of land: the City Industrial Waste (CIW) site and the Campsie Sand and Gravel (CSG) site.

It is thought to cover more than 100 acres of land or the size of about 70 football pitches.

The judge said that Farmer “acted in a deliberate and premeditated manner” to engage in waste processing activities on the part of the site which he owned.

He said Doherty was “willingly and knowingly receiving waste onto his lands for financial gain”.

The defendants pleaded guilty in 2022.

The court was told the case had been lengthy owing to its complexity, the need to engage experts, and arguments over the quantities of waste which the court should consider.

The £700m figure for the potential repair bill is contained in 2022/23 accounts from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) which were published in February 2024.

They estimate a cost range of between £17m and £700m.

The prosecution was brought by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA).