Ignorance of dumping incredible: Attwood

Mr Attwood, who was the responsible minister when the dump on the Mobuoy Road near Gorticross was eventually discovered, said he found it difficult to believe nobody knew about the dump during an Assembly debate on fuel laundering.

He said the National Crime Agency (NCA) should now deploy its full powers and resources against fuel laundering and other organised crime.

He told the Assembly: “In the spring of 2013, on the edge of the River Faughan, a mile or two from the River Foyle outside Derry, the single biggest illegal waste dump ever found in these islands was discovered, in respect of which three people are before the courts.

“It is estimated in court papers that £40 million or more of money and illegal assets were secured by those who have been alleged responsible for that offence.

“The issue that arises from all that is this: when it came to the biggest illegal waste dump ever, which was found two miles outside Derry, the police did not know anything about it; the Serious Organised Crime Agency did not anything about it; and the Organised Crime Task Force, which is chaired by the Minister, did not know anything about it.

“Nobody, it seems, knew anything at all about the single biggest illegal waste dump ever found in the history of these islands. We do not believe that nobody could not have known anything.”