Spain. The Guardia Cicvil arrested and charged 97 people allegedly involved in the illegal trafficking of more than 150 tons of R22 refrigerant.
Most of the arrests have taken place in the capital of Gran Canaria, others occurred in the ports of Zaragoza and Tenerife.
More than 60 officers participated in the operation that began in February this year and included raids on 16 offices and warehouses of various companies and on seven ships of different nationalities. It is estimated that illegal activities scored more than 4 million euros a year.
The website of the Spanish newspaper La Provincia reported that investigators stated that a number of companies supplied R22 to the Russian and Lithuanian fishing fleet. Some refrigerants were also suspected of being acquired by ground-based refrigeration systems. The virgin refrigerant is believed to have originated in China.
