Koper - Slovenian police have helped break up a criminal ring in Italy that gained over EUR 400,000 through illegal waste management, sending garbage to Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary.

The final campaign of a broad investigation was conducted last week by the environmental branch of the Carabinieri in cooperation with Europol and the Slovenian police, the Koper Police said on Thursday.

A total of 24 house searches were conducted at the addresses of several suspects and 12 businesses suspected of having participated in the illegal waste chain.

The investigation included two Slovenian citizens and two companies based in Slovenia, the press release said.

The investigation was conducted in 2019 and 2020, finding that the criminal ring operated waste management companies, storing waste in industrial halls in Italy.

The waste was then shipped with forged paperwork to Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary in large quantities. The shipments included communal waste and specific waste, which included unclassified waste, tires, plastic, leather waste and dangerous packaging.

What is more, several shipments were dumped in the natural environment near Divača, the press release said. The Koper police filed charges against an Italian and a Slovenian citizen, as well as two legal entities from the Koper area.

The joint investigation found over 70 illegal waste shipments, with 1,700 tonnes of waste dumped illegally.

The press release underlined the importance of cross-border cooperation in cracking down on environmental crime, as criminal rings often operate in a number of countries.