Police close in on serial asbestos dumper after waste piles found in Sydney’s south-west

Police are closing in on an asbestos dumper after several piles of rubble believed to contain the contaminated material were found in Sydney’s south-west.

It is understood police wish to speak to Belmore man Charlie Mokbel after a white tipper truck was spotted dumping rubbish on Hillside Avenue in Clemton Park about 5.45pm yesterday.

The sighting prompted local residents to contact police.

“The rubble looked like it came from a demolition site. There was concrete, what looked like guttering, lots of dirt,” resident Bernice told 9NEWS.

“The police came an hour later and looked at it straight away, saying ‘there’s asbestos in that’.”

CCTV shows a white tipper truck with a full load leaving a nearby construction site on Sharp Street at Belmore minutes earlier.

Hillside Avenue was cordoned off and the pile sprayed and covered with plastic, with police quickly identifying their person of interest.

“I said, ‘do we have a serial perpetrator here?’ They said, ‘we’ve been after him for 15 years’,” Bernice said.

But a friend of the Belmore man later denied any knowledge of the alleged crime, telling 9NEWS he had “no idea” about any asbestos dumping.

Two more areas of illegally dumped rubble were later identified, with CCTV capturing a heap at a car park on Belmore’s Joan Lane.

Several piles were also identified at a vacant lot on Canterbury Road, with authorities investigating if all three incidents are linked.

“Your chances of being caught are higher than ever,” Darryl Atkins from the Regional Illegal Dumping Squad told 9NEWS.

“We appeal to the general public to continue to help us to identify this material."

Samples from Clemton Park have been taken to confirm it contains asbestos and to determine where the waste originated.

The local council is arranging for the building rubble to be safely removed.

Members of the public are urged to report any incidents of suspected illegal dumping to the NSW Environment Protection Authority’s 24/7 Environment Line on 131 555.