As part of the “Finoplast” operation, six raids were carried out in Spain, France and Portugal and five people were arrested, with another 15 being investigated for “illegally trafficking more than 41,000 tonnes of waste”, namely plastics from agriculture, according to a statement from the Spanish Civil Guard, the police force that coordinated the investigation.

The Guardia Civil says that “a criminal organisation has been arrested” and that most of the trafficked plastic was transported in Portuguese lorries to various storage points in Spain, from where it was sent to countries all over the world (India, Turkey, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, Angola, Brazil, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates).

In this way, 18,800 tonnes of plastic were transported from Portugal and France to Spain, according to the investigation.

“This waste was transported by large Portuguese lorries taking advantage of return journeys between the two countries [Portugal and France],” and deposited in the region of León and Valencia (north-western and eastern Spain) without the proper authorisations, explains the Guardia Civil.

“More than 18,800 tonnes of waste were illegally transported from France and Portugal to Spain. Some of this waste was abandoned at the facilities [where it was deposited] and the rest was sent to third countries illegally, passing it off as raw material or falsifying environmental documentation,” reads the statement.

The Guardia Civil has identified the shipment of around 22,785 tonnes of plastics to various countries and says it suspects the involvement of “various companies linked to plastic waste management” in Spain, which loaded the containers and disguised or hid the plastics.

The investigation was carried out in Spain by the Spanish Civil Guard and included the collaboration of the Portuguese and French Judicial Police and the French National Guard (“Gendarmerie”), in coordination with Eurojust and Europol.