Hazardous waste disposal racket revealed
The number of affected clients is expected to grow, say the Guardia Civil
MORE than 130 businesses in Alicante, Murcia and Albacete provinces may be affected by a Guardia Civil investigation into four people for improper disposal of medical waste.
The suspects’ business did not have authorisation to handle hazardous waste and officers have immobilised over six tonnes of dangerous, sharp items from dentists, vets and tattooists, according to a spokesman for the force.
Officers from the nature protection service (Seprona) were alerted by a centre for managing dangerous waste that a dental clinic had asked them for a receipt to prove his waste had been received.
However, this waste had been collected from his work by a waste transportation business that the centre did not work with and therefore the requested documentation could not be issued.
The control and tracking documents (DCS) the dentist had been given were apparently falsified in the section indicating the final waste manager, resulting in loss of income and credibility for the sector, the spokesman said.
The transportation company allegedly behind the falsification had charged for the services in cash, the centres which produced the waste could not provide details about the people who made the collections, and the two people who the company belonged to blamed each other, so at first it was not possible to determine who was responsible.
The Guardia Civil reported the case to the regional environment department, which launched several procedures to fine the company for malpractice for not reporting where it had delivered the dangerous waste to.
Then during a routine inspection of a vet clinic in Molina de Segura, Seprona officers found DCS documents showing that the same company was operating again, and the final waste management company indicated on these papers had not received anything from the transport company either.
But in this case they did show who the payments for collection and management services had been made to.
The company under investigation had established links with businesses that needed these legally required services, and advertised itself through a website.
Their drivers would come to clients’ businesses to collect five-kilo capacity containers full of waste and give them back empty ones to continue the service.
They generally took payments in cash but later received transfers to a bank account in the name of a person who had no management role at the company, only an employment contract for a fixed number of hours.
Officers inspected the transport company’s premises at a fenced off plot of land in Lorqui (Murcia), where they found over 6,000kg of utensils which have been put at the disposition of the regional environment department.
The investigation is treating the sole administrator, another employee and two drivers from the company as suspects for falsifying documentation and fraud.
The professional colleges of odontologists and veterinarians in Murcia region were informed about the case so that any affected members could present official accusations. The Guardia Civil have so far verified 30 affected clinics, but this number is expected to grow by about 100 across Murcia and neighbouring Alicante and Albacete.