Attwood claimsMobuoy dumpyielded £50m

Mr Attwood made the claim during a debate on the proposed implementation of the National Crime Agency (NCA) - a UK-wide police superforce to tackle organised crime, strengthen borders, fight fraud and protect children - in Northern Ireland.

The former Minister has, with his party colleagues and Sinn Féin, opposed the NCA’s implementation. Speaking at Stormont on Monday he told unionist NCA advocates it needed to prove it will go after fuel launderers and those involved in waste crime.

“The biggest waste dump in the history of these islands lies two miles outside Derry, on top of the River Faughan. Those responsible for it got £50 million out of that dump.

“It will cost £110 million to clean it up, and that is independent of any leachate that is likely to gush into the River Faughan and the River Foyle, and yet...yet the police knew nothing about it,” he said.

He said the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) knew nothing about it and nor was it on the radar of the Organised Crime Task Force.

“Nobody knew about the biggest waste dump in the history of these islands,” he said. “So we have asked the NCA this: convince us that those responsible for that - the organised crime on the island of Ireland - will never again be able to get away with something like that.

“Show us that all those private arrangements that SOCA enters into - probably not many - are approved by the High Court and that that will become the rule of thumb of the NCA. That is the way to deal with organised crime - by going after all of those involved and ensuring that there are no no-go zones when it comes to organised crime.”

Illegal waste dumping at Mobuoy was exposed by Mr Attwood in June 2013.

The Mills report into the dump said the illegal landfilling was facilitated by lax enforcement by the DoE planning office and ultimately resulted in £34.6m in tax being evaded.