Greek police arrested three people Tuesday after officers caught a tanker truck dumping hazardous industrial waste into a storm-water system connected to the Kifisos River, a major waterway running through the Athens metropolitan area and into the sea.
The arrests took place at a fuel station in Egaleo, a western suburb of Athens, following an investigation by the Attica police security division, according to Greek authorities.
Police said investigators had received information that tanker trucks operated by a particular company were using the fuel station to dispose of industrial waste. The company collected waste from several industrial facilities as well as a state hospital, authorities said.
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On Tuesday morning, police said, a tanker collected hazardous waste from a biscuit-manufacturing facility before traveling to the Egaleo station. Other vehicles were allegedly positioned around the tanker to obscure it from view while its contents were discharged into a storm-water drain.
Officers intervened while the dumping was under way. Investigators found a pipe that they said was used to connect the tanker to the drainage system.
A crew from EYDAP, the Athens water and sewerage utility, subsequently determined that the underground drain flowed into the Kifisos River, which empties into the Saronic Gulf.
Police arrested the tanker’s 41-year-old driver, a 46-year-old man identified as the vehicle’s owner and a 43-year-old co-owner of the fuel station. The suspects were taken to the police Environmental Protection Department, which is investigating the case. They are expected to appear before a prosecutor Wednesday.
E.I. Papadopoulos SA, a major Greek biscuit maker, said the tanker didn’t belong to its fleet. The company said it had contracted an outside operator to collect and transport wastewater from its factory in Tavros, near Athens, to a treatment facility in Metamorfosi.
The contractor was required to comply with environmental and regulatory rules governing the work, Papadopoulos said.
The company said it was investigating the incident, cooperating with authorities and reserving its legal rights. Police haven’t said how much waste may have entered the drainage system or what environmental impact the alleged dumping might have caused.
