Eleven people have been indicted for allegedly collecting, storing and processing waste without a license to support an operation that was illegally exporting it, Taoyuan prosecutors said in a statement on Monday.
The Northern Center of Environmental Management informed the Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office about the operation, which is believed to have begun in March 2023, the statement said.
During searches on Feb. 7, investigators found about 5,549 tonnes of plastic waste stored at three facilities in Sinwu (新屋) and Jhongli (中壢) districts, Ministry of Environment officials said.
Photo: Lee Jung-ping, Taipei Times
Investigators learned that 5,832 tonnes of waste had been shipped overseas, the office said, adding that NT$394.79 million (US$10.73 million) of suspected illegal gains was confiscated.
Six companies involved in unlicensed waste operations could be fined up to NT$10 million each by the Taoyuan Department of Environmental Protection, Deputy Minister of Environment Shen Chih-hsiu (沈志修) said.
The 11 people were indicted for operating landfills and storing, processing and disposing waste without a license, offenses that carry a prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of NT$15 million, Shen said.
The environment ministry, prosecutors and police have been part of an alliance to tackle breaches of environmental protection laws since 2011, Deputy Minister of Justice Hsu Hsi-hsiang (徐錫祥) said.
Over the past 14 years, the alliance has used technology and a division of specialists to investigate environmental crimes, Hsu said.
Prosecutors have seized illegal gains and assessed how well sites were restored to how they were prior to being used as dumps to determine what level of sentencing they would push for, he said.
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