León, Spain – An organization involved in the illegal import, storage, transport, and export of over 41,000 tons of plastic waste has been dismantled following a large investigation.

Five people have been arrested and fifteen are under investigation for their roles in trafficking plastic waste both nationally and internationally to countries including India and Morocco.

The investigation began in late 2022 after authorities found an unauthorized landfill in an old brick factory in the Bierzo region of León. Thousands of tons of plastic waste were stored there without required environmental permits.

Most of the waste consisted of agricultural plastics from France and Portugal. The group used large Portuguese trucks returning from Spain to move waste to illegal sites in La Bañeza, Alberic, and Bierzo.

More than 18,800 tons were transported illegally from France and Portugal into Spain. Some waste was abandoned at these illegal sites, while the remainder was exported abroad in violation of regulations.

To avoid customs controls, traffickers falsified environmental documentation and mislabelled the waste as recyclable. Investigations found at least 22,785 tons were sent to countries such as India, Vietnam, Turkey, Malaysia, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, and Morocco.

Collaboration was found between the traffickers and recycling companies in Almería, which concealed waste behind clean plastic bales inside containers to evade detection.

Samples collected in the Valencian Community revealed that 15 out of 16 waste types contained toxic substances, confirmed by the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences in Barcelona.

Authorities registered four companies linked to sixteen societies, inspected four others, and searched two private residences. Several thousand tons of waste were seized from illegal sites.

The European Copernicus program contributed technology for mapping illegally accumulated waste. Asset recovery offices worked with partners in Germany, Switzerland, and the UK.

The investigation is coordinated by the Court of Instruction No. 1 of Ponferrada and the local Environmental Prosecutor’s Office. The suspected leader of the group is now in provisional prison.

Law enforcement agencies across Spain, France, and Portugal, alongside European bodies such as Eurojust and Europol, participated in the operation. Additional support came from national and regional environmental agencies.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download