One-day action to tackle illegal scrap metal trade leads to 18 vehicle stoppages

LONDON (Scrap Monster) :The one-day action carried out by Dorset Police in association with the Environment Agency (EA), the Borough of Poole and the Vehicle Operator Services Agency (VOSA) stopped 18 vehicles and seized loads of illegal scrap materials from three vehicles.

The police handed out two fixed penalty notice and three prohibition notices during the action. According to officers from Dorset Police, the one-day action was aimed to tackle scrap thieves and also to educate public about the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 bill. Earlier, a one-day action was held in Dorset in February during which 36 vehicles were stopped and illegal scrap metal seized from two vehicles.

The Scrap Metal Dealers’ Act 2013 which came into effect on October 1^st, had set Oct 15th as the last day for scrap yards to get registered. The scrap yards were granted 15 days time to obtain temporary licenses so as to continue their operations. Dealers were required to register for their license by December 1st.

As per the guidelines of the Act, the dealers are required to pay only through crossed cheques or electronic transfer. The Act prohibits traders from dealing in cash. Traders who fail to obtain valid license or breach the licensing conditions or found making cash payments could be fined up to £5,000. They may also face punishments like limits on trading hours and complete shutdown of business.

The Dorset police officials warned that all those who fail to comply with the licensing regulation will be dealt with. They also stated that similar operations will be carried out in future in order to curb metal theft incidents.