On Tuesday, January 14, Spanish police announced the arrest of a gang suspected of smuggling over 40,000 tons of untreated municipal waste annually from Italy to Spain.
According to police, Italian waste processing companies have paid smugglers more than €19 million since 2021 for the disposal of waste, including hazardous and toxic materials.
The waste primarily consisted of municipal garbage generated by Italian citizens, though it was mixed with other types of materials.
Now, 15 individuals and seven companies are under investigation on suspicion of belonging to a criminal organization, committing crimes against natural resources and the environment, as well as forging documents.
“Despite having contracts to manage municipal waste, Italian companies redirected it to Spain for disposal to cut costs, resulting in millions of euros in profits at the expense of the Italian treasury,” police stated.
Police also noted that the gang set up a series of shell companies, falsifying documents to create the appearance that the waste had undergone processing, which never actually occurred.
