Justice catches up with fly-tipper caught red-handed
A man from Watford who fly-tipped in Buckinghamshire in 2021 has finally paid the penalty for his crime after being prosecuted in court.
Chrystian Junio Assis Riberio, aged 23, from Sleaford Green in Watford, pleaded guilty to a charge of illegal dumping waste at Brawlings Lane, Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire when he appeared in front of magistrates at Hatfield Magistrates Court on 26 July.
Riberio was arrested on an outstanding warrant for an offence of fly-tipping dating back to 2021. The court heard that on Tuesday 14 September 2021, Riberio illegally fly-tipped a large load of building waste which contained environmentally hazardous materials including paint.
Riberio was recorded committing the offence by a Buckinghamshire surveillance camera as well as being witnessed by a member of the public who documented crucial evidence. In addition, a council enforcement officer also discovered key evidence amongst the waste that ultimately traced back to the offender in question. These three evidence sources are routinely used by Buckinghamshire Council to detect fly-tipping offences, but it very rare for all three elements to be used together in one case, as happened in this instance.
Magistrates fined Riberio £2,000 and ordered him to pay clean-up and prosecution costs of £400. A victim surcharge of £190 was also levied – making a total to pay £2,590.
Jilly Jordan, Buckinghamshire Council’s Deputy Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment said: “Fly-tipping is a serious criminal act that causes chronic harm to our environment and communities. Buckinghamshire Council has a firm position on fly-tipping - it is against the law, not acceptable, and offenders will face ‘zero tolerance’ consequences.
“This fly-tipper was caught on CCTV, witnessed by a member of the public for fly-tipping and evidence found at the scene also helped identify the offender. This case serves as a reminder that Buckinghamshire Council will upturn every stone seeking to detect and apprehend dumping offenders.”
Members of the public are encouraged to report any suspicious activity related to waste disposal to the appropriate authorities promptly. This can be done via the online portal: www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/fixmystreet If you have evidence that may be used to identify the offenders you can email it directly to the enforcement team mailbox: [email protected]
