The vehicles were taken from Waldens Farm in St Mary Cray as part of enforcement action led by Bromley Council’s Neighbourhood Investigation Officers, supported by police.
Large mounds of burnt waste were discovered hidden in the wooded areas of the privately owned site, suggesting it had been used for industrial-scale illegal waste disposal.
A council spokesperson said: “It appears that an illegal industrial scale waste disposal operation has been set-up, with the significant profits this can generate.
“We are limited by what we can share at this time as our investigation work continues but we will also look at the serious environmental damage that will no doubt have been caused as well.
“We would like to thank the Police for their ongoing support in this work, including in this operation.”
On-site investigations are ongoing and a man was arrested during the raid, which was carried out using two warrants.
The scale of the waste indicates that hundreds of tonnes may have been unlawfully dumped.
Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the seized vehicles—which include two flatbed tippers, a mini skip van, and a box panel van—could be crushed.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “Environmental crime is a serious concern and working closely with the Council to support their work is part of the way that we help tackle this locally as part of the Bromley Safer Partnership.
“It is a stark reminder as well to us all to carefully check the credentials of anyone we are proposing to use to dispose of waste, including checking they are a licensed waste carrier, to help ensure that waste is properly disposed of.”
The land in question, Waldens Farm, is made up of around 800 small “leisure plots” covering 70 acres, originally part of former orchards that were subdivided and sold off in 1974.
The plots were laid out on a grid-iron pattern, with parcels approximately 10 metres by 30 metres in size.
Intention of closure notices have been posted at the site under section 76 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, citing “substantial public nuisance and environmental harm resulting from persistent unlawful activities at the site.”
Rewards of up to £500 are available for information that leads to prosecution.
