An ordinary workday turned into a nightmare when a Darwin business owner returned from holiday to find his yard transformed into a dumping ground.

What should have been a space for building tiny homes was instead swallowed by a mountain of tyres.

The discovery revealed a larger scam that had already cost local businesses thousands.


When Anwar Albatat walked into his industrial yard after two weeks away, he was stunned by the sight before him.

A pile of old tyres stood where his tiny homes usually took shape, blocking the view and swallowing valuable space.

‘Everything seemed to be 100 per cent genuine about [the workers sharing our yard],’ Mr Albatat said.

‘They hired people…they had their own truck.

‘But slowly, slowly we start to realise they were not coming here anymore.

‘Alarms start to come up and we start to ask, "What's exactly happening with these guys?"’

Earlier this year, Mr Albatat’s landlord leased part of the property to a new company, Seoul Traders, which claimed it needed space to store and recycle tyres.

At first, the arrangement appeared legitimate—rent was paid on time, workers were present, and the business had secured a licence from the NT Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to recycle tyres.


But soon, the payments stopped.

Landlord Peter Kruhse said the company began sending screenshots of supposed transactions, before vanishing entirely.

‘It was a nightmare. I slogged in the sun for a month packing the tyres into stacks,’ Mr Kruhse said.

‘No one should have to go through this heartache.’

Authorities said the scam followed a familiar pattern—operators offered cheap recycling services, collected payment, then abandoned the tyres at rented sites before disappearing with the cash.

The NT EPA confirmed Seoul Traders was granted a licence in March, but an inspection in May revealed multiple breaches.

By June, the company’s licence had been suspended.


‘At the time of granting the licence, the NT EPA had no intelligence about an alleged scam being run,’ a spokesperson said.

‘The EPA checks the business records of applicants and asks if they have held licences or committed environmental offences previously, and Seoul Traders met the basic ASIC requirements to get an ABN and operate in Australia.’

The consequences for those left behind have been significant.

Mr Kruhse estimated 50 tonnes of tyres were abandoned at his lot—an amount that could cost more than $30,000 to dispose of.

In May, another Darwin recycler, NTEX, was also caught up in the scheme.

Facility manager Paul Wilson said his team processed around 20 tonnes of tyres for the company before realising the bill would never be paid.

‘There was no reason to question this particular client,’ he said.


After numerous failed attempts to contact Seoul Traders, NTEX returned the tyres to Mr Kruhse’s property, where they still sit today.

Recycling tyres in the Northern Territory is both costly and complex.

It now costs more than $1,000 per tonne at the NT’s main waste facility, with only a handful of cheaper options available—NTEX charges $610 per tonne.

Mr Wilson said the soaring prices had led to a spike in illegal tyre dumping across the country.

‘There is money to be made and I could certainly understand the appetite of scammers to be in that particular scam,’ he said.


Illegal tyre dumping scams aren’t the only costly problem when it comes to waste mismanagement.

In another case, one tradesman found himself thousands out of pocket after trying to cut corners.

It’s a sharp reminder that shortcuts with rubbish can come back with a heavy price tag.

Read more: Dumping waste illegally costs one tradie $30,000—and sends a warning to others


What protections should be in place to stop scammers from exploiting Australia’s costly waste industry?