Police coup against a criminal group of professional 'polluters'. In recent days, Civil Guard agents in collaboration with Europol have dismantled an international organization that was dedicated to the transport of urban waste dangerous to health and the environment from Europe, which was dumped illegally and without prior treatment. in landfills in Zaragoza and Seròs (Lleida).
In total, within the framework of the “Poubelle” operation, more than twenty people have been investigated or detained, who are accused of the crimes of belonging to a criminal organization, document falsification and against the environment. In addition, six searches have been carried out at homes and offices in Terrassa (Barcelona), Fraga (Huesca) and Alcañiz (Teruel).
The investigations began after an unusual transit of trucks loaded with urban waste from Europe destined for Spanish companies was detected at the border. The first investigations made it possible to identify a series of interrelated companies established between the south of France and the communities of Aragon and Catalonia, which traded large quantities of waste from the continent.
According to the merit, it was verified that dozens of trucks entered the waste management facilities controlled by the organization, but that, instead of subjecting that load to recovery processes, they redirected it directly to a landfill located in Zaragoza.
Once the alleged members of this plot were identified, the agents verified that the international contracts for the management of this urban waste were offered at prices well below the market. According to the sources cited, through this system it is estimated that the criminal organization would have earned more than 16 million euros since 2020.
Since the entry of this type of waste is prohibited by legislation, which requires that each country be responsible for the treatment of waste generated in its territory, the people and companies investigated had devised a procedure consisting of interposing a series of companies between the producer and the Spanish landfill.
This contract recorded different treatments and operations never carried out so that, at least at a documentary level, it seemed that everything was done in accordance with current legislation.
According to the sources cited, the result is that tons of waste of all types, including dangerous and toxic, from Europe, were buried daily in Zaragoza, "all at the cost of almost irreparable damage to the ecosystems and the health of the surrounding populations. ".
As part of the operation, the Civil Guard has also inspected an illegal landfill in the town of Seròs (Lleida) and two trucks for transporting waste.
During the operation, six entries and searches were carried out at the homes and headquarters of legal entities in the towns of Fraga (Huesca), Terrassa (Barcelona) and Alcañiz (Teruel), in which 10 mobile phones, six hard drives, four laptop computers, nine pendrives, three memory cards, various documentation and 24,870 euros in cash.
In addition, the databases and emails of the legal entities investigated, as well as those detained, were dumped.
The Investigative Court number 1 of Fraga (Huesca) in charge of the case has ordered the imprisonment of two of the detainees, as well as the blocking of five real estate properties and four cars, five motorcycles and six heavy machines for the treatment of waste.
This type of crime dedicated to the international trafficking of hazardous urban waste is growing at a rate of between 5% and 7% annually, making it the fourth most important criminal activity in the world after drug trafficking, human trafficking and counterfeiting. .
The aforementioned sources point out that recent studies estimate that the annual income derived solely from the illicit waste market in the EU is between 4,000 and 15,000 million euros and that, despite the damage they cause, offenders run little risk of being detected.
