A total of 106 people have been indicted and 43 plots of land seized in Kaohsiung’s Meinong District (美濃) in connection to the illegal excavation of gravel pits later backfilled with construction waste, the Ciaotou District Prosecutors’ Office said today.
The office in a news release said it has concluded its investigation into the so-called “Grand Canyon of Meinong” (美濃大峽谷).
Prosecutors said the excavated area was double the size of Kaohsiung’s Chengching Lake Baseball Stadium and averages 15m deep.
Photo courtesy of the Ciaotou District Prosecutors' Office
The sites were filled with foul, stagnant water, polluting the surrounding farmland, they said.
The excavation-and-backfill scheme earned illegal profits estimated at NT$300 million (US$9.54 million), they added.
Prosecutors said they received a tip off in August last year that multiple areas in Meinong had been extensively excavated, creating large canyon-like pits.
Since Aug. 27, authorities have carried out 14 waves of searches and arrests, investigating a total of 57 suspects and applying to the court to detain 21 of them, they said.
The suspects face pending charges under the Waste Disposal Act (廢棄物清理法) and the Organized Crime Prevention Act (組織犯罪防制條例), they added.
Prosecutors said they had seized a total of NT$31.97 million in cash, 43 plots of land, 38 vehicles and various heavy machinery, including tractor-trailers and excavators.
On Dec. 23, the office auctioned off 11 seized excavators and gravel trucks, with total proceeds reaching NT$12.25 million.
Among the suspects is landowner Shih Li-chun (石麗君), who served as an aide to independent Kaohsiung City Councilor Chu Hsin-chiang (朱信強), prosecutors said.
Shih is among those now detained by the Ciaotou District Court, they said.
The scheme has seriously damaged national land conservation, agricultural production and public safety, requiring extensive cleanup costs and leaving a severe long-term impact, office Chief Prosecutor Chang Chun-hui (張春暉) said.
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