Garbage mafia broken. 46 people heard over 17,000 allegations

On one of the landfills near Inowrocław, the garbage of the inhabitants of the Pakość commune was to be stored, but the business was taken over by the mafia. In five years, she filled the place to the brim, which was enough for the residents for several dozen years.

– This group brought hazardous waste. Those that are to be subject to strict restrictions, for ordinary waste landfills, which they cannot have in its purpose – informs Krzysztof Wrześniowski, spokesman for the Central Police Investigation Bureau.

This group, responsible – according to the journalist of “Supervisor” TVN – also for illegal dumps in Wrocław or in Rudna Wielka in Lower Silesia, was broken. In the investigation, 46 people managed to stop for four years, who had a total of 17,000 allegations.

– They consisted, among others, in the storage of waste in places not intended, or, for example, certifying untruth in waste collection cards, i.e. in a document that confirmed the transfer of waste to the authorized entity – says Katarzyna Calaów -Jaszewska from the national prosecutor's office.

– As for a specific investigation, it began at the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Łódź. (…) It included 700 companies – reports Maciej Kuciel, journalist of “Superwizjer” TVN.

For now, 13 people were arrested. Four leaders of this group heard the allegations, but also by a number of employees.

– They were car drivers, they were people who supervised the garbage dumps, they were people who dealt with documentation, also falsifying this documentation – indicates Krzysztof Wrześniowski.

– These are people who occupy different positions, both the presidents of companies, as well as people who occupy positions in offices, as well as simply common people – says the operational officer.

This is not the end of detention in this one gang. – Until now we have 46 people detained, but this is not the end yet, the next stops are only a matter of time – says Krzysztof Wrześniowski.

Importantly, this junk mafia dealt not only with very dangerous, including carcinogenic, waste on ordinary – legal or illegal – dumps. She also dealt with VAT fraud.

– One of the suspects issued unreliable invoices, 600 unreliable invoices, for a total amount of PLN 11 million – indicates Katarzyna Calaów -Jaszewska.

This is not an accident – we hear from a former policeman. – The garbage mafia somehow replaced the VAT mafia. Not only that, many people who once dealt with the extortion of VAT, creating this VAT mafia, at the moment creates the so -called garbage mafia – notes Dariusz Nowak, a former policeman.

CBŚP and the Faculty of National Prosecutor's Office in Łódź. There are more such stories throughout the country. Today, there may be 200 to 300 illegal landfills in Poland. We hear about them most often when fires break out, but the threat is all the time.

– The scale of this is alarming and huge. It can be said that these are hectares, thousands of hectares when it comes to the whole country – says the operational officer dealing with this case.

Recall, two years ago, TVN24 reporters reached information about wild dumps, in which so-called red waters were stored, i.e. very dangerous waste from the state-owned company Nitro-Chem.

See also: “When the media turmoil died down, Nitro-chem withdrew from the agreement.” Taxpayers paid for cleaning

– We showed the practice of how to earn a lot of money on hazardous waste. The recipe is actually simple, because the utilization of hazardous waste is very expensive, it is a gigantic money, but you can also take such waste, collect from the company and take it to a wild landfill – says Olga Orzechowska, co -author of the report “Red Water”, journalist “Black and black on white” TVN24.

After the broadcast of the report, people involved in the organization of wild landfills were arrested. Even if the guilty ones go behind bars, there are dumps after them, with which there is nothing to do, because utilization costs. They pay the municipalities, the ministry promises to help.

– We clean the waste from the most dangerous, carcinogenic, which are located with the immediate surroundings of people. We have the first 32 places designated in terms of danger to people's health and life – says Paulina Hennig -Kloska.

This year, the Ministry of Climate and the Environment wants to allocate PLN 300 million for the liquidation of such landfills. Meanwhile, only the utilization of one landfill from which we started this material can cost up to PLN 10 billion.