Forty-nine people were indicted on Monday in connection with illegal dumping of industrial waste and construction site debris at various locations in central Taiwan.
The case allegedly involved at least three criminal rings setting up front companies, registered as landscaping, waste treatment and recycling businesses, which made NT$73.38 million (US$2.64 million) of illicit profits, said Yeh Chien-cheng (葉建成), deputy chief prosecutor at the Changhua District Prosecutors’ Office.
The main suspects, surnamed Kuo (郭), Lin (林) and Huang (黃), headed the illegal operations, Yeh said, while the others indicted were landowners who colluded with the trio, along with company employees, accountants and truck drivers, who have been charged for contravening the Waste Disposal Act (廢棄物清理法).
Photo courtesy of the Changhua Prosecutors’ Office via CNA
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) on Monday issued a statement confirming that the dump sites contained plastic debris, painted plywood, insulation fabric, mixed wooden and chemical substances, burned slag from furnaces treating solid garbage, and other building site and industrial waste.
The Bureau of Environmental Inspection central Taiwan branch said that the materials would have contaminated the soil and underground water in the surrounding areas.
Some was flammable material, which could produce harmful dust and also lead to fire breaking out, thereby posing a serious health threat to local residents, it said.
Prosecutors, the Changhua County Environmental Protection Bureau, local police and judicial investigation units formed a task force in January to probe the case following tip-offs and complaints from residents of Fangyuan Township (芳苑) of the number of trucks dumping waste materials at one particular plot of land, Yeh said.
Months-long surveillance found that Kuo, Lin and Huang had colluded with businesses in central Taiwan that had licenses to recycle and handle hazardous waste, he said.
The trio set up three companies registered in Changhua County that cooperated with truck companies to dump untreated waste at 48 locations in Taichung, and Changhua, Yunlin and Chiayi counties, Yeh said.
The task force on Aug. 3 conducted raids and detained 80 people as witnesses and suspects for questioning, he said.
Monday’s indictment said that 60,215m3, or 24,086 tonnes, of illegal waste was dumped at the 48 locations, and that the estimated profits were NT$73.38 million from factories, construction companies and other businesses paying “recycling fees.”
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