‘Stolen cars’ and ‘hazardous waste’ found in Upminster raid

Suspected stolen cars and hazardous electrical waste were found during a raid on a self-storage site in Upminster.

Containers loaded with fridges, televisions and computers, and around 15 vehicles, were discovered during the joint operation by the Environment Agency and Essex Police.

A 42-year-old man, from Romford, a 52-year-old man, and a 30-year-old woman, both from Canvey Island, Essex, have been arrested.

They have been bailed pending further enquiries until June.

Four other people were arrested on suspicion of immigration offences and will be dealt with by the UK Border Agency, following the raid on March 28.

Environment manager Debbie Jones said: “Every year the UK throws away around two million tonnes of waste electrical goods. Our role is to ensure that waste is collected for treatment and recovery in the correct manner, ensuring less goes to landfill. It also ensures valuable materials can be recovered and used again, such as gold and silver.

“Our aim is to ensure waste sites are not affecting human health or the environment. We are taking tough action to deal with waste sites which are not obeying the law.”

The Environment Agency’s objective is to clamp down on waste sites exporting electrical goods to third world countries.