The police in Limburg arrested a 59-year-old man from Berghem on Saturday for an environmental crime from which a lot of money may have been earned. This involves burying and thus hiding burnt rubber in the soil, which has contaminated the soil. This happened on an industrial estate in Kerkrade in Limburg. The 59-year-old is also suspected of fraud. Just like a second man, who has also been arrested.
The man from Berghem was arrested abroad on Saturday, the police announced on Monday. A second suspect in this case, a 46-year-old German, was arrested in Croatia on October 13.
The investigation into the storage of waste in Kerkrade has been ongoing since the beginning of 2021. There were signals and complaints about the situation on the industrial estate from local residents, the municipality and the province of Limburg.
According to the police, the investigation showed that the two suspects stored burnt plastics, burnt rubber and burnt plastics in the ground and did not cover the waste properly. This allowed harmful substances to penetrate deep into the soil.
According to the police, there are indications that a lot of money has been made from this environmental crime. A police spokesperson explains that this has to do with the deposit that entrepreneurs have to pay when they remove waste. “You pay a deposit, which you get back if you dispose of the waste properly. The suspects did not do that, but they did try to get the deposit back,” she explains.
According to the police, the environmental crime has had an impact on the sense of safety in the residential area bordering the industrial estate.