Businessman pays $4.4M to retrieve seized trucks after blocking gov’t derelict clean-up drive
Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill says a businessman who deliberately blocked a government cleanup operation along the old Railway Embankment was made to pay $4.4 million to have his trucks returned after authorities moved in and removed the vehicles last month.
Edghill made the disclosure on Monday during his contribution to the Budget 2026 debates in the National Assembly.
“When the lawless behaves lawless, law and order steps in,” Edghill told the House. “The gentleman who refused to move his derelict vehicles has paid the $4.4 million for the removal so he could get back his trucks that he used as a barricade.”
“And that is the penalty for lawlessness,” the minister added, warning that persons who refuse to comply with the law “will have to face the consequences of breaking the law.”
Last month, the Ministry of Public Works ordered the removal and impoundment of multiple heavy-duty trucks belonging to Global Spare Parts and Auto Sales, after government contractors were blocked from clearing derelict vehicles and scrap material from the old Railway Embankment behind the GuyOil gas station.
According to the ministry, the business deliberately placed trucks across the access route, preventing contractors from carrying out the cleanup exercise. The operation was subsequently halted until the government intervened and removed the vehicles.
Edghill said the area was heavily congested with abandoned vehicles, vehicle parts and scrap materials, with motor oil dumped directly onto the ground, posing what he described as a serious environmental and public health risk.
The minister said the businessman was required to pay the full cost of the removal before the trucks were released, stressing that enforcement actions are not selective and will continue when public safety or national development is affected.
“We have no difficulty with enforcement,” Edghill said. “All those who don’t want to follow the law will have to face the consequences.”
