Almeria company involved in illegal rubbish trafficking operation

The Guardia Civil's environmental protection unit, Seprona, has dismantled a criminal organisation allegedly dedicated to the international trafficking of plastic waste. Five people have been arrested and another 15 investigated for the illegal import, storage and export of more than 41,000 tonnes of contaminated waste during operation 'Finoplast'.

According to the Guardia Civil, the gang transported agricultural waste from France and Portugal, using companies linked to the recycling sector located in Almeria province. There, the waste was loaded into containers hidden under bales of clean plastic to circumvent customs controls. They were then transferred to illegal facilities in León and Valencia, from where they were illegally exported to third countries.

The investigation began at the end of 2022, when officers located an illegal landfill in a former brickyard in El Bierzo (León), with thousands of tonnes of plastic waste. From there, further clandestine facilities were discovered, including in Alberic, Valencia, all of them without the required environmental authorisations.

The analysis of the documents seized confirmed the transfer of at least 18,800 tonnes of plastic waste from France and Portugal to Spain, before being sent to other countries. Part of this waste was abandoned, while the rest was illegally exported to countries including India, Turkey, Morocco, Malaysia, Vietnam, Angola, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates, among others. In total, an estimated 22,785 tonnes left the country illegally.

As a result of the investigations carried out by Seprona, the direct participation of at least one recycling company based in Almeria has been detected, which, according to the investigation, acted in an organised manner together with the rest of the network. The company apparently collaborated in the concealment of the illegal material, making it difficult for border controls to detect it.

During the operation, the Guardia Civil searched four companies, the headquarters of 16 front companies, inspected another four and searched two homes where numerous documents were seized. Several thousand tonnes of waste have also been located and seized in clandestine facilities in coordination with the environmental authorities in Castilla y León and Valencia.

The investigation has been led by a court in Ponferrada (Castilla y León) and the Prosecutor's Office for the Environment and Urban Planning of the same town. The ringleader of the plot is being held in custody and the court has issued 21 European warrants.

The investigation has also been carried out simultaneously in France and Portugal in collaboration with Eurojust and Europol, as well as with the French National Gendarmerie, the Portuguese Judicial Police and Seprona.

In Spain the operation has had teh support of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, the waste and contaminated soil service of Castilla y León's regional government, and various specialised units of the Guardia Civil in León, Valencia, Almería and Tenerife.