Stiffer fines for waste gangs

PENALTIES facing gangs involved in environmental crime are to be stepped up to stem what has become a growing problem in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has announced a new taskforce will be set up in partnership with police, prosecutors and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa). It is likely to overhaul the system of penalties to boost the low-level fines often handed out for environmental crime.

A summit in Edinburgh yesterday heard how organised gangs were increasingly focusing on illegal dumping of waste and using scrapyards as fronts.

Sepa’s chief executive, Campbell Gemmell, said current penalties did not deter the criminals.