Police said a coordinated operation by units from Pomerania and Greater Poland targeted a group accused of depositing waste without permits. The Central Bureau of Investigation police (CBŚP) detained seven people on suspicion of taking part in an organized criminal group, illegal waste handling, and falsifying paperwork.
Investigators said the dumping occurred in Słupsk and Kościerzyna counties, including near construction of the S6 expressway. The group allegedly worked mostly at night: an excavator operated without lights while trucks used field roads to avoid detection. Officers reported as many as eight transports in a single night.
To mask routes and loads, drivers swapped trailers between different tractors and used a remote transport base, police said. Companies maintaining waste databases allegedly certified false entries that described the cargo as sand or mineral waste instead of municipal refuse.
The Regional Environmental Inspectorate in Poznań estimated more than 18,000 tons of waste at the identified sites, with lawful disposal costs exceeding PLN 11 million. Inspectors warned the illegal dumps pose serious risks to soil, groundwater, and residents’ health, and said taxpayers could bear the cleanup costs if the waste is abandoned.
During the night of Nov. 24–25, police caught drivers, excavator operators, and site overseers in the act and also detained the group’s suspected leader, according to authorities. A court ordered pretrial detention for four of the seven detainees.
(jh)
Source: RMF24