The Spanish mafia del Carton: millions in stolen paper business

The modus operandi of the Mafia del Carton
The mafiosi systematically drive their trucks along 17 routes to empty the blue paper containers before the municipal waste collection vehicles arrive. Some of the routes are used several times a day. On average, the gangs steal up to 9,300 tons of paper and cardboard per year with an estimated market value of 1.3 million euros. The clans are rigorous in their approach: if a truck deviates from its route and enters the territory of another gang, it is simply set on fire.

Arrests as part of “Operation Hartie”
In a large-scale operation by the Guardia Civil, the local police and Europol, 42 members of the Mafia del Carton were arrested, mainly Romanians, but also Latin American citizens and three Spaniards. The latter worked for the company that “laundered” the stolen goods to export them mainly to Asia. 37 suspected members of the gang are still on the run. Those arrested are accused of crimes against the environment, criminal organization, theft, money laundering and illegal waste shipments.

Action against illegal waste export
The investigators focused on the waste management company involved. It is suspected of mixing legally collected waste with the stolen paper and cardboard and exporting it without a permit to China, India, Indonesia and South Korea. In doing so, it violated current EU regulations, which require such exports to be monitored to ensure that the waste is disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner at its destination. The aim of these regulations is to protect the environment and human health.
The Spanish Mafia del Carton has built up an illegal industry worth millions over the years. Thanks to concerted action by the authorities, it has now been possible to put an end to this criminal activity. However, it remains to be seen whether the problem of paper and cardboard theft in Madrid can be solved permanently.

The company under investigation failed to inform the competent authorities about shipments, mainly to China, India, Indonesia and South Korea, so that the shipments were not checked and it was not known whether they underwent appropriate treatment for this type of waste at their destination. The various EU regulations lay down procedures and control regimes for shipments of waste between Member States and third countries, depending on the origin, destination and route of the shipment, the type of waste shipped and the type of treatment to be applied at the destination. The aim is to organise and regulate the supervision and control of shipments of waste in such a way that account is taken of the “need to preserve, protect and improve the quality of the environment and human health”.