Italian mafia caught turning toxic plastic into shoes
Italian detectives have dismantled a mafia plastic-recycling ring headed by a murderous mobster that sent toxic materials to China to make shoes which were then sold in Italy, police said on Thursday.
Officers threw ten people into pre-trial detention in jail, placed five more under house arrest, and seized five companies in Sicily after uncovering the racket in used plastic sheeting contaminated with fertilisers and pesticides.
Those arrested are accused variously of extortion, possessing illegal weapons, grievous bodily harm and waste trafficking.
READ ALSO:
-
What is Italy doing about the shocking level of plastic pollution on its coastline?
-
You can now trade plastic bottles for metro tickets in Rome
-
'I was shocked': How one expat is fighting plastic pollution in Sicily
The ring was lead by a Claudio Carbonaro, a gangster who was "responsible for atrocious crimes in the 1980s and 90s, including over 60 murders", police said.
After turning police witness, Carbonaro returned in 2013 to Sicily where he took over a historic mafia clan and launched the extremely lucrative trafficking in contaminated plastics.
The crackdown followed a four-year probe after the seizure in Rome of shoes made of toxic materials. The investigation revealed plastic waste was being collected in warehouses in Sicily and shipped to China, only to return to Italy as footwear.
Comments
See Also
Officers threw ten people into pre-trial detention in jail, placed five more under house arrest, and seized five companies in Sicily after uncovering the racket in used plastic sheeting contaminated with fertilisers and pesticides.
Those arrested are accused variously of extortion, possessing illegal weapons, grievous bodily harm and waste trafficking.
READ ALSO:
- What is Italy doing about the shocking level of plastic pollution on its coastline?
- You can now trade plastic bottles for metro tickets in Rome
- 'I was shocked': How one expat is fighting plastic pollution in Sicily
The ring was lead by a Claudio Carbonaro, a gangster who was "responsible for atrocious crimes in the 1980s and 90s, including over 60 murders", police said.
After turning police witness, Carbonaro returned in 2013 to Sicily where he took over a historic mafia clan and launched the extremely lucrative trafficking in contaminated plastics.
The crackdown followed a four-year probe after the seizure in Rome of shoes made of toxic materials. The investigation revealed plastic waste was being collected in warehouses in Sicily and shipped to China, only to return to Italy as footwear.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.