GNR holds 16 suspected of illegally dumping sludge into land

A GNR arrested 16 suspected of involvement in an alleged scheme for irregular referral to agricultural and forestry land of sludge from wastewater treatment plants (STAR) and other industrial activities, it was announced today.

In a statement, GNR states that the investigation culminated in the fulfillment of 36 search warrants, of which 15 households, 13 in facilities of waste management and recovery companies and eight in facilities of public entities, as well as in the fulfillment of 16 arrest warrants in the districts of Braga, Porto, Vila Real, Viseu, Coimbra, Santarém, Lisbon, Setúbal and Évora.

“In the course of the investigation, which began about two years ago, evidence was collected that could configure the practice of pollution crimes, document falsity, computer falsity, whitening and criminal association, involving an alleged concerted action between waste management operators, transporters and other actors in the discharge, scattering and incorporation of sludge into the ground,” the statement adds.

A total of 279,160 euros, 8,003 US dollars, three luxury watches and thousands of accounting, financial, commercial and administrative documents, as well as mobile phones, computers and other electronic devices were seized.

According to GNR, the identified ‘modus operandi’ is related to the application of waste on agricultural and forestry land, without compliance with the legally enforceable conditions, in particular with regard to the treatment, quality of materials and planning of their agricultural use.

The sludges would be presented documentally as an organic compound, giving an appearance of regularity to their transport and later use.

In the operation, called “Maxima Cloaca”, evidence was also collected of the existence of electronic records pointing to destinations or operations other than those actually carried out, as well as of the possible manipulation of samples for the analyses necessary for the instruction of sludge management plans.

“ These practices are likely to compromise the quality of soil and water resources, and in some of the samples analyzed, the presence of relevant microorganisms for the assessment of environmental and health risks is also identified in the statement.

The procedure would avoid the costs associated with the treatment and proper forwarding of waste, as well as obtaining payments for services that would not have been effectively provided.

The police operation aimed to deepen the collection of evidence, reconstruct the path of waste, clarify the documentary and financial circuits associated with the investigated activity and individualize the intervention of the various involved.

Detainees will be present at the Guimarães Criminal Instruction Court for first judicial questioning and possible enforcement measures.

Led by the Territorial Command of Braga, through the Center for Investigation of Crimes and Environmental Counter-ordinations of the Section of the Protection Service of Nature and the Environment, the operation was committed by 150 military personnel from various valencias of GNR and several territorial commands, and also benefited from the support of two teams of the Regional Coordination and Development Commission of Lisbon and Tagus Valley.