An Armagh man – previously convicted for the illegal keeping of controlled waste on lands at Blackwatertown Road – has been ordered to pay close to £100,000 or go to jail for a year.
A Confiscation Order totalling £95,285.23 was granted by Newry Crown Court on Tuesday against 79-year-old Thomas Curran, of Blackwatertown Road, Co Armagh.
It equates to the criminal benefit generated by Curran from the illegal keeping of controlled waste at the site in the vicinity of Blackwatertown Road, Co Armagh.
In 2017, officers of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency’s Environmental Crime Unit conducted an investigation into the disposal of controlled waste on lands owned by Curran.
The waste discovered consisted of household, commercial and industrial waste.
Following the NIEA investigation, Curran pleaded guilty and was convicted on June 8, 2023 by the Crown Court sitting in Newry for offences contrary to Article 4 of the Waste and Contaminated Land (NI) Order 1997.
The criminal benefit generated from his offending was calculated to be £1,053,042.90.
On June 3, 2025 a Confiscation Order was granted by the Crown Court totalling £95,285.23 – equal to the value of Curran’s available assets.
He was granted three months to pay the Confiscation Order or serve 12 months imprisonment in default of payment.
