Company directors Paul Doherty, 67, and Gerry Farmer, 56, were sentenced to a total of 33 months’ imprisonment for their role in the illegal dumping of waste at the Mobuoy landfill site in Derry.

“The time has long passed where those who commit environmental crime motivated by greed can expect to walk free from the consequences of their actions,” Judge Rafferty KC told Londonderry Crown Court during their sentencing last Friday.

Doherty, a director of Campsie Sand and Gravel Ltd, from Culmore Road, Derry, who pleaded guilty to seven waste offences was sentenced to 12 months in custody on each count, to run concurrently.

Farmer, a director of City Industrial Waste Ltd, from Westlake, Derry, who pleaded guilty to three waste offences was sentenced to 21 months in custody on each count, to run concurrently.

Waste management company City Industrial Waste Ltd of 60 Mobuoy Road, Campsie, BT47 3JQ also pleaded guilty to three criminal offences. Its sentencing has been deferred to a later date as part of the proceeds of crime process.

Northern Ireland’s agriculture, environment and rural affairs minister, Andrew Muir, said: “This was an abhorrent environmental crime of unprecedented proportions carried out over many years as part of a deliberate and sophisticated operation by criminals seeking to profit from the illegal disposal of controlled waste.

“Despite the complexity, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency worked with the Public Prosecution Service to build a case against the defendants, who pled guilty in the face of the evidence presented.”

Parallel to the criminal investigation, the NIEA’s financial investigation and business support branch is continuing its financial investigation into the three defendants under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.