An arrest and a company processing and supplying materials for the production of cement placed under seizure: this is the result of a complex investigation conducted by the Port Authority – Coast Guard and the State Police, coordinated by the competent Public Prosecutor’s Office of Palmi, as part of an investigation aimed at shedding light on a system of extraction, transport and processing of inert material coming directly from the Petrace river.
The investigation started from a series of investigations in the area relating to the companies located along the Petrace river and developed through monitoring activities of a production activity present in the area of the municipality of Rizziconi. The checks made it possible to document the extraction of material from the river bed, which was then used in the subsequent processing phases by the company, producer of material used as a component for cement.
The Judicial Police activity saw the joint intervention of the Coast Guard soldiers and the personnel of the Investigation Section of the Gioia Tauro Public Security Police Station while the operations to remove material from the river banks were underway. The driver of the vehicle used to remove the material was arrested in flagrante delicto, while the entire area in which the company is located as well as the operational vehicles attributable to it were seized. The owner of the company reported to the Judicial Authority.
The operation of the Port Authority – Coast Guard and Public Safety Commissioner of Gioia Tauro is part of the broader framework of the activities carried out to protect the environment and the territory of the Gioia Tauro Plain, with particular attention to the protection of waterways and the fight against related illicit conduct.