has dismantled an international criminal organization dedicated to illicit garbage trafficking that has introduced some 40,000 tons per year of urban waste from Italy into Spanish landfills. As reported by the Nature Protection Service () of the armed institute, the operation has led to the arrest of 15 people and the investigation of seven companies that have charged more than 19 million euros since 2021 for illicitly disposing of waste. domestic.
The operation, called Wastestarted after detecting the entry of waste into Spain whose documentation could be falsified and which would be destined for landfills without having been previously treated. The first investigations made it possible to identify a series of interrelated companies based in Catalonia and Castilla-La Mancha that traded at large levels with Italian waste.
It was verified that dozens of trucks entered the waste management facilities controlled by the organization but that, instead of subjecting the cargo to recovery processes, it was redirected directly to landfills. According to Seprona calculations, these quantities of urban waste of Italian origin illegally dumped in Spanish landfills have exceeded 40,000 tons per year since 2021.
Although Italian companies were hired to manage urban waste, they referred its disposal to Spain to save costs, which would have generated million-dollar income at the expense of the Italian treasury. It is estimated that the criminal organization would have earned more than 19 million euros in the last four years.
These practices contravene environmental legislation and control systems, the spirit of which lies in the principle of proximity and that each country takes responsibility for its waste. Spain cannot accept the entry of this type of waste for disposal in landfills, and it is the obligation of the Italian authorities to manage and eliminate waste generated in urban areas.
The procedure consisted of interposing a series of companies between the Italian producer and the Spanish landfill, which simulated 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. This ensured that the Spanish control authority, the Catalan Waste Agency, issued the required authorizations, avoiding all types of opposition.
The result is that tons of urban waste of all types from Italy, including dangerous and toxic waste, were buried daily in landfills located in the provinces of Tarragona and Cuenca, which can cause damage to the ecosystems and the health of the surrounding populations. .
Five entries and searches have been carried out at the headquarters of legal entities in Lleida, Constantí and Riba Roja d’Ebre (Tarragona), and Almonacid del Marquesado (Cuenca), where various computer equipment has been intervened and samples taken of the transferred waste. , which will help continue with the clarification of the crimes.
The judicial authority has ordered the blocking of the properties and bank accounts belonging to those investigated that form part of the assets obtained through illicit activity, with a view to future restitution of the damage generated.
Waste trafficking, a European priority
In May 2021, the Council of the European Union adopted the priorities for combating serious and organized crime during the 2022-2025 cycle (EMPACT). Ten priorities were adopted, among which is crime against the environment. And the objective is to dismantle criminal networks involved in all forms of crimes against the environment, concentrating especially on the trafficking of waste and wild flora and fauna. Also in criminal networks and businessmen with the capacity to infiltrate high-level legal business structures or to create their own companies in order to facilitate their crimes.
This type of crime grows 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 operation has been directed by the Court of Instruction number 4 of Tarragona and developed by the Central Operational Unit for the Environment (Ucoma) of the Headquarters of the Nature Protection Service (Seprona) of the Civil Guard and has also had the support from Europol. Civil Guard units from Lleida, Tarragona and Cuenca have also participated.
In 2021, the then head of Seprona, Major General Clemente García Barrios, already told EL PAÍS that this Civil Guard unit had a great challenge with international garbage trafficking: he noted.
