The investigation by the Anti-Mafia District Directorate of Milan has highlighted the presence of the ‘ndrangheta in the waste management business in Lombardy. A recent police raid led to the arrest of fourteen people, confirming that organized crime is taking root in Northern Italy, driven primarily by illegal waste trafficking.
According to Legambiente Lombardia, this alarming infiltration has been reported for some time and is clearly evident from the intercepted conversations of the suspects linked to the Piromalli clan. The conversations reveal a clear interest in the waste management business, using companies as a front for illicit activities and threatening to turn Lombardy into a new “land of fires.”
To counter these unscrupulous ambitions of the ecomafiosi, Legambiente emphasizes the importance of rapidly strengthening prevention and control activities. It cannot solely rely on law enforcement and the judiciary, especially when it comes to the companies involved in the waste management cycle.
According to the data from the Ecomafia Report, Lombardy is the fourth Italian region in terms of confirmed crimes in the waste management cycle (362 cases in 2022) and the third in terms of fires in treatment and disposal facilities (169 cases). These numbers are alarming, considering that they have been monitored by Legambiente from 2013 to 2023.
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