The National Police and the Tax Agency’s Customs Surveillance Service have broken up a criminal group in Alicante, Valencia, and Madrid that was allegedly selling fluorinated gases illegally. In the operation, five people were arrested and 48,000 kilos of this material were seized without the required environmental traceability.
HFCs, or fluorinated gases, are used for refrigeration. Most of them come from China and are used to replace gases that are already banned because they destroy the ozone layer. Because of this, there are limits on how much may be imported and distributed.
Because of these high taxes, petrol trafficking networks have made a lot of money by buying petrol in China at a low price and selling it on the black market without paying the tax that goes with it.
The National Police and the Tax Agency said this Friday that Operation Summer led to 11 inspections of nine companies in Alicante, Valencia, and Madrid that were involved in the scheme. They seized 48 tonnes of gases and more than 4,700 containers worth three million euros on the market.
European laws are quite severe about the use and sale of these refrigerant gases since they could seriously upset the equilibrium of the climate.
The inquiry found that this illegal group had been working in Spain since 2023, bringing fluorinated gases into the Spanish and worldwide markets without the right permissions or environmental or tax controls.
Shell corporations and moving money between countries
The inquiry has found that the criminal network is involved in large financial transactions, with business dealings worth more than 10 million euros.
It is said that the money made by selling these gases illegally was sent through shell businesses and overseas transfers to hide the money and make it harder for tax officials to find it.
Five people were arrested as part of the police operation. They were then placed before the courts as suspected criminals for crimes against the environment, smuggling, fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, and being part of a criminal group.
The investigation is still going on, so further arrests are possible.
Author: Derek Appleton
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