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PA NIGERIAN MEN SENTENCED FOR HAZARDOUS WASTE EXPORT CONSP.

Release Date: 11/18/96
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PA NIGERIAN MEN SENTENCED FOR HAZARDOUS WASTE EXPORT CONSP.

FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1996

NIGERIAN MEN SENTENCED FOR HAZARDOUS WASTE EXPORT CONSPIRACY

On Nov. 6, two Nigerian men, Michael Nweke and Stephen Nwosu, were each sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison and were ordered to serve three years of supervised release for their convictions on charges of conspiring to transport hazardous waste without a manifest, conspiring to export hazardous waste to a foreign country without permission of the receiving country and wire fraud. In addition, Nwosu was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine. As part of their scheme, the defendants claimed to represent an Atlanta, Ga., company, Ossy and Associates, which they said could dispose of hazardous waste by exporting it to Nigeria without doing the paperwork which is normally required. They stated to EPA special agents working under cover that this would be accomplished by disguising the hazardous waste and by bribing Nigerian officials. The case was investigated by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Customs Service with the assistance of EPA's National Enforcement Investigations Center.

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