In an operation backed by Europol and Ameripol, police in Spain have disputed an organised criminal network that made hundreds of thousands of euros from illegally selling used tyres sourced from European member states in South America and Africa.
The effort resulted in the arrest of nine people who are suspected of being members of a Spanish-based gang that acquired large quantities of used tyres that were destined for destruction.
Five other individuals are facing charges after investigators carried out raids on 17 properties in Spain.
The gang, which is thought to have operated in 17 countries across three continents, is said to have raked in almost €2 million ($2.4 million) by selling relatively lightly-used tyres sourced from a number of European countries to buyers in low-income third nations.
The criminal network is suspected of selling used tyres in countries including Bolivia, Colombia, Congo, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ghana, Mauritania, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico and Senegal.
In all, the gang is thought to have illegally acquired and sold on more than 200,000 tyres, resulting in a profit of more than €1.8 million.
Gang members acquired their stock from EU countries in which tyres are typically changed early, illegally selling on those that were only deemed fit for recycling.
Commenting on the success of the operation, Jari Liukku, Head of Department of the European Serious and Organised Crime Centre at Europol, said: “Environmental crime for the purpose of illicit waste trafficking is a serious offence that results in substantial damages to the environment and generates hundreds of millions of euros in criminal profits.
“In the EU, the trafficking of illicit waste is typically carried out by major organised crime groups operating globally with the assistance of legal business structures, corruption and money laundering activities.
“In the fight against organised crime, international police cooperation is paramount. This case represents yet another success of Europol’s international approach, but enormous challenges still lie ahead.”
In a statement, Europol said that it offered support to officers conducting the operation for six months, and provided technical assistance, international coordination, reports and analysis on any new information received.
The agency said this coordination was essential to the success of the operation, as the commercial transactions involved countries such as Bulgaria, Germany, France, Poland and Portugal.
While the used tyre market in EU countries is regulated, some campaigners have called their sale to be banned partly due to the fact that regulations are routinely flouted.
Apart from being worn, used tyres have been known to be sold with objects such as nails lodged in them.
Discussing the sale of part-worn tyres in January last year, Simon Blackburn, Chair of the UK Local Government Association’s Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said: “Cheap part-worn tyres might be tempting to buy, but if they don’t have the correct legal markings, motorists risk buying illegal tyres which could contribute to a major accident.”
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