A waste crime boss who dumped rubbish equivalent to the weight of 600 African elephants on British farms and countryside has been ordered to pay more than £1.4 million.
Varun Dutta, 36, carried out an operation that spread more than 4,275 tonnes of waste at 16 illegal sites from Lincolnshire to the south coast, leaving farmland, historic homes and nature reserves buried under bales of rotting rubbish.
A national investigation by the Environment Agency has uncovered an organized network of illegal logging sites across Lancashire, Kent, Surrey, Cambridgeshire, Rutland and Middlesbrough.
Ms Datta, of Littlechester Street, London, was ordered to pay more than £1,116,000 under a confiscation order, reflecting the financial gains from her crime. He must also pay compensation of £100,000 and prosecution costs of £200,000.
He was sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for 18 months, plus 30 days of rehabilitation activities and 200 hours of unpaid work.
The court heard Mr Dutta became a registered waste broker in 2015 through Atkins Recycling. Dutta claimed that the waste his company handled would be sent to a legal location near Sheffield.
Instead, large amounts of mixed municipal waste (tightly wrapped in plastic to form large bales) were diverted to unauthorized sites across the country.
In 2018, officers seized £131,520 in cash from Dutta’s home. An injunction was then issued against the two bank accounts to ensure future forfeitures could be recovered.
After pleading not guilty in 2023, Dutta admitted in June 2025 to intentionally and illegally depositing controlled waste at 16 facilities.
Judge Paul Farrar KC described the criminal conduct as “reckless”.
“Odors and flies were characteristic of some illegal sites, causing local negative impacts on air quality,” he said. Landowners “have been forced to incur significant costs for the removal of illegal waste.”
There were no environmental permits or valid exemptions in place at any of the sites.
Emma Vinner, Enforcement and Investigations Manager at the Environment Agency’s National Environmental Crime Unit, said: “I am pleased that the perpetrators of this horrific incident have been brought to justice.”
“Despite their efforts to cover up their criminal activities, our in-depth investigation across the length and breadth of the country ultimately uncovered those responsible,” she added.
“We will never stop fighting to end the scourge of waste crime that harms our environment and communities.”
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds condemned the operation as a “shocking incident of illegal waste dumping” orchestrated by “a group of shameless criminals who thought they could operate outside the law”.
“I welcome the penalties secured by the Environment Agency. They send a clear message to criminals that there is nowhere to hide,” she said.
Of the £100,000 compensation order, £70,000 will go to Middlesbrough City Council to help cover the costs of cleaning up the former Sulzer Dowding Mills factory site. A further £30,000 will be paid to Lancashire Wildlife Trust for the future management of Middleton Nature Reserve.
Two other people were also charged. Mohamed Sarraj Bashir, 45, received a four-month suspended prison sentence and a community fine after admitting three offenses. Robert William McAllister, 55, was fined £750 for breaching his duty of care as a waste broker.
Warrants for two additional suspects remain active.
