ROME- An enormous toxic waste dump has been discovered in a quarry in Latina, according to local police sources.

A police operation that started in the early hours of Thursday morning has dismantled a complex criminal organization that deals with the illegal trafficking and dumping of dangerous waste in Aprilia, a town in the Province of Latina south of Rome. The State Police of Latina discovered that an abandoned “Pozzolana” quarry ( a type of volcanic ash that sets under water) had been transformed into a large unauthorized landfill site for toxic waste from March 2016.

There have been 22 arrests and a 53-year-old Roman and his 22-year-old son are believed to be at the head of the operation, according to the investigation conducted by the units of the Central Police Operation, Latina Police and Aprilia Traffic Police. Preliminary injunctions were ordered against the arrested persons, as requested by the Anfimafia District Branch and issued by the Court of Rome. Numerous businessmen from Rome and Latina are under investigation, many of whom operate within the waste collection and disposal sector. Business, shares, public buildings and land worth millions of euros have been seized by authorities for the investigation.

The use of video surveillance and phone tapping, authorities understood that there was a high volume of heavy vehicles passing through the area, even during the night. They discovered that the lorries were illegally transporting toxic waste that was immediately buried underground by diggers.

Residents of Aprilia, in the locality of Latina where the landfill site was found, were woken by the noise of the helicopters and the operation which was conducted during the night.  

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