They illegally disposed of large quantities of wood, ferrous, construction, plastic, sheathing and, even more seriously, Eternit sheets on agricultural land, on the outskirts of Reggio Calabria, and then set them on fire. They had created a real landfill, created illegally, on land whose owners were unaware of what was happening.
They are now accused of criminal association aimed at the illicit management of waste, its combustion and the organized illicit trafficking of waste.
In the early hours of the morning today, the soldiers of the Reggio Calabria forestry carabinieri group, in fact, implemented five precautionary measures, including one of house arrest and four of the obligation to report to the judicial police, issued by the judge for preliminary investigations of the court of Reggio Calabria against as many people of Italian and Romanian nationality.
The five defendants, through transport, delivered the waste to the illegally created landfill and then proceeded to burn it, thus setting up an organised and efficient system, of alarming gravity, capable of endangering the health of an indeterminate number of people, as well as creating serious harm and damage to the environmental matrices.
The investigative activity, carried out under the direction of the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Reggio Calabria court, District Anti-Mafia Directorate, made it possible to acquire a serious circumstantial framework, shared by the investigating judge in the restrictive order.
The trucks used by the associates for waste handling were also subjected to seizure for the purpose of confiscation.
The investigative activity
The investigation is the result of a detailed and complex investigative activity launched by the Reggio Calabria forestry carabinieri unit through which the existence of a stable criminal association dedicated to the illicit management of waste was brought to light, highlighting the criminally relevant conduct.
Today’s result was the result of a roadside check of a vehicle loaded with special waste and lacking the required environmental permits. The investigative action conducted with traditional methods and supported by technical activity led to the discovery of several interconnected criminal conducts.
The activity is in the preliminary investigation phase pending the evaluations of the judicial authorities.
