A worrying fire broke out yesterday in the Persiano military zone, in Salerne, Italy, highlighting the serious consequences of illegal waste traffic between Tunisia and Italy. The disaster would be due to the conflagration of thousands of ecological bullets containing illegally exported waste in Tunisia more than two and a half years ago.
“Thick toxic black smoke was raised in the sky, visible for miles, causing panic among the thousands of inhabitants and farmers in the region. The affected area, rich in agricultural land, is now faced with a potential environmental disaster, “report the Italian media.
The 6,000 tonnes of waste involved in this international scandal represent a direct threat to the local ecosystem. This situation highlights the persistent risks linked to prolonged storage of illegal waste. The case, already at the heart of an investigation by the Italian Antimafia Departmental Directorate (DDA), takes on a new dimension with this fire with potentially devastating consequences for the environment.
As a reminder, the case dates back to 2020, when Tunisian customs discovered tons of waste landed at the port of Sousse, officially intended for a plastic treatment company.
The scandal implies a Tunisian ghost society, Soreplast, linked to the Old Regime of Ben Ali, and led to the arrest of several officials in Tunisia, including the former Minister of the Environment.
In this case, eight people are in prison and one is on the run: the manager of the importing company, which had signed with an Italian company a contract for the elimination of maximum 120,000 tonnes, at a price of 48 euros per tonne, a total exceeding 5 million euros.
A total of 23 people were involved in this scandal, including the former Minister of the Environment, Mustapha Aroui. The main suspect in this case left Tunisia in November 2020 and a research notice was issued against him on November 17, 2020. This person, identified under the name of “Boulon”, probably a pseudonym, is from Sousse and resides in Germany.
