They illegally disposed of enormous quantities of waste, including dangerous ones, on agricultural land belonging to completely unaware people, which were destroyed after being set on fire. Five precautionary measures – including one house arrest and four orders to report to the judicial police – were carried out by the military of the Carabinieri Forestale group of Reggio Calabria against as many subjects of Italian and Romanian nationality. The measures were issued by the investigating judge of Reggio Calabria at the request of the DDA. The crimes alleged against the recipients of the measures range from criminal association aimed at the illicit management of waste, illicit combustion and illicit trafficking of waste.
The investigation is the result of an investigative activity started by the Carabinieri Forestale Nucleus of Reggio Calabria which brought to light the conduct of a group dedicated to the illicit management of waste. Following the road control of a vehicle loaded with special waste and without environmental authorisations, the activity was carried out using traditional methods and supported by technical activity which allowed the ascertainment of several connected criminal conducts.
In particular, the subjects affected by the precautionary measure transported waste of various types (wooden, ferrous, construction, plastic, sheathing and, even more seriously, asbestos sheets) to the illegally created landfill and then proceeded with their combustionthus setting up an organised and efficient system, of alarming gravity, capable of exposing the health of an indeterminate number of people and creating serious harm and damage to the environmental matrices. The military also subjected the trucks used for waste handling to seizure aimed at confiscation.
