Trento court lifts warrants for three Austrian waste traders

A court in Trento has lifted European arrest warrants issued against three Austrian businessmen in a case involving suspected cross-border organised illegal waste trading allegedly originating in Italy, ORF reported. One of those affected is from Vorarlberg.

The case came to light in South Tyrol in May. During the investigation, the court issued warrants for several people. The warrants were not carried out; in Tyrol, authorities conducted house searches only.

Italian investigators targeted 19 people and three companies in total and issued 12 arrest warrants. The investigation focused on ash residues from biomass plants that were allegedly declared as charcoal or so-called biochar and used, among other purposes, to produce barbecue briquettes or fertilisers.

Investigators said toxic materials had been processed. Chemical analyses reportedly found increased concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and dioxins.

The Trento public prosecutor’s office also accused managers and employees of the South Tyrol Provincial Environmental Agency of supporting the alleged system. According to investigation documents, they delayed inspections, developed favourable interpretations of regulations and showed administrative routes for bypassing environmental requirements.