Illicit waste trafficking between Italy and Bulgaria: 6 arrests by the NOE

On 20 February 2026, the Carabinieri of the Environmental Protection and Energy Security Group of Naples, with the support of the competent provincial commands, executed a precautionary custody order against six people as part of a vast investigation into the illicit trafficking of waste between Italy, Greece and Bulgaria.

The order, issued by the preliminary investigations judge of the Lecce Court at the request of the District Anti-Mafia Directorate, ordered four arrests and two house arrests . The charges, to varying degrees, include criminal conspiracy for the purpose of organized activities for the illicit trafficking of waste, illicit shipment, and unauthorized management, aggravated by transnationality.

The operation involved the provinces of Brindisi, Bari, Salerno and Sofia, in Bulgaria.

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The investigation: wiretaps, shadowing, and international cooperation

The investigation, coordinated by the Lecce DDA and conducted by the Carabinieri of the Lecce NOE starting in January 2024, continued for months, also involving Bulgarian authorities through international cooperation activities.

The telephone interceptions , video recordings and shadowing were crucial in reconstructing the functioning of a structured criminal organisation specialising in the illicit disposal of non-hazardous special waste.

According to the investigative hypothesis, the group would have moved thousands of tons of waste coming from a plant in the province of Brindisi , using intermediary companies in the sector to mask the true nature of the materials.

The mechanism: fake CER codes and manipulated documents

At the heart of the illegal scheme was the alteration of waste classification. Specifically, materials consisting primarily of unsorted industrial waste—identifiable with CER code 191212—were falsely classified as recoverable waste with CER code 191204 (plastic and rubber).

This artifice would have allowed the use of a less onerous disposal procedure , generating an illicit profit estimated at around 300.000 euros , a sum for which the equivalent seizure was ordered.

The shipments were made via the port of Brindisi. The vehicles, traceable to the company BRI Ecologica srl, arrived at the port and were shipped to Greece and Bulgaria with the assistance of freight forwarders and employees of colluding companies.

Once at their destination, the waste was not subjected to the declared recovery or incineration treatments, but was stored and abandoned in disused industrial warehouses and, in some cases, on agricultural land.

The seizure and the evidence collected

During the operation, two companies and 44 vehicles were seized. A crucial step in the investigation took place on May 15, 2024, when the seizure of three trucks revealed discrepancies between the transport documentation—certifying loads of mixed plastics—and the actual composition of the waste.

The analyses revealed a presence of inert materials exceeding 60%, including rubble, wood, insulated panels, textiles, glass, iron, and other materials not compatible with the declared classification.

The historical data is also significant: until 2019, the plant treated large quantities of correctly classified mixed waste. Since 2020, coinciding with the identification of foreign disposal channels, this waste management has been phased out and exports of materials declared recoverable have surged.

Fourteen suspects and precautionary phase

A total of 14 people are under investigation, including drivers, transport organizers, intermediaries, and managers – both formal and de facto – of the companies involved.

The precautionary measures, adopted after the preventive interrogations, aim to prevent the repetition of the contested conduct and to avoid the alteration of the sources of evidence.

The order was issued during the preliminary investigation phase. The suspects are presumed innocent until a final conviction is issued.