A Newry man has been told to stomp up almost £180,000 in three months or face the prospect of two years in prison.
James Morgan, 38, of Benagh Road, was slapped with the confiscation order totalling £177,123.53 by Newry Crown Court, for keeping and disposing controlled waste in a manner likely to cause pollution and without a license contrary to the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997.
The confiscation order granted equates to the criminal benefit generated by Morgan from the illegal disposal of controlled waste at a site on the Benagh Road.
In 2016 and 2018 officers from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) investigated the site owned by and under the control of Morgan.
At the site officers observed a large in-fill area consisting of; plastic controlled waste along with construction and demolition controlled waste.
The site did not have a waste management license nor did it have planning approval.
Morgan pleaded guilty on February 11, 2020 to the charges.
He was given three months to pay the confiscation order with a default term set at two years imprisonment in the event of non-payment.
In addition he was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment (suspended for two years) on all three counts listed in the in the indictment.
