Recycling centers filled to the brim until the fire, illegal export of tons of garbage ... Justice has struck organized waste crime in the Southeast by proceeding with eleven indictments, reports this Thursday the prosecution of Marseilles (Bouches-du-Rhone).
On Tuesday and Wednesday, five natural persons were indicted "Heads of management, transport, export and irregular abandonment of waste in an organized gang, fraud in an organized gang and breaches of regulations", detailed the prosecution.
Two of them were remanded in custody.
Six companies were also indicted as legal persons.
The five indicted must also answer for the irregular operation of a classified installation (waste center) and destruction by fire.
Investigations in Bouches-du-Rhône, Gard, Drôme and Vaucluse
The starting point of the investigation, carried out by the Central Office for the Fight against Damage to the Environment and Public Health (Oclaesp), is the fire that occurred in August 2020 in a recycling center in Milhaud, in the Gard, managed by the company Bennes 30. “The investigations concerning the origin of the fire, but also the conditions of storage and treatment of the waste with regard to the regulations (…) made it possible to highlight several irregularities, in particular with regard to the volumes stored, ”explains the prosecution.
After the fire, and despite a formal notice from the prefect to reduce the volume of its waste, the company “continued its activity by receiving new waste”.
The operation, carried out as part of a judicial investigation opened at the end of 2021, was carried out in Bouches-du-Rhône, Gard and Vaucluse, mobilizing more than 60 gendarmes and leading to eleven searches in total.
According to the Marseille public prosecutor's office, more than 26,000 tonnes of waste were illegally exported between October 2020 and February 2021 by this company, particularly in Spain, while some waste "could have been the subject of wild landfills".
“Several storage sites, rented sheds that have become sheds filled with waste, operated to store waste there through several other companies, have been discovered in Gard, Bouches-du-Rhône, Drôme and Vaucluse “Describes the prosecution, speaking of” irregular conditions due to the volume and nature of the waste “.
The investigation also targets a recent fire, which mobilized elected officials and activists at the beginning of the year: that of the sorting center of the company Recyclage concept 13, in Saint-Chamas, near Marseille.
