A man has been fined £5,000 for waste laundering offences at Newry Magistrates' Court on Monday.

Francis McGuinness, 56, was also ordered to pay £6,000 in clean-up costs, £255 to Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) for analysis costs and a £25 offender levy.

Mr McGuinness was found guilty on one charge under Article 4(1)(b) of the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 and not guilty on another waste charge under Article 4(1)(a) of the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997.

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On the 4 December 2013, officers of the NIEA together with officers of the PSNI and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs carried out a joint search of a site to the rear of 43 Newtown Road, Cloghouge, Newry. Officers noted that a large quantity of controlled waste in the form of fuel laundering waste was deposited on the site which was owned by Mr Francis McGuinness. The fuel laundering waste was hazardous in nature. Also on site was apparatus and infrastructure used in fuel laundering. The site did not have a licence from the NIEA to keep controlled waste.

(CD)