Smuggling of polluting refrigerant gas and dishonest entrepreneurs but above all polluters.
As many as 13,6 tons of non-regenerated refrigerant gas, stored in 1.360 cylinders of the “R404A” and “R507A” type, coming from China were seized by the Guardia di Finanzaof the Provincial Command of Treviso.
The Guardia di Finanza, as part of investigations aimed at combating the smuggling of goods from outside the EU, seized an articulated lorry from a Polish company and its significant cargo.
According to European Regulation No. 517/2014, from 1 January 2025 this gas cannot be used in pure form in Member States as it is considered one of the causes of global warming, given that it belongs to the family of fluorinated greenhouse gases.
The cargo, intended to be sold “under the counter” to air conditioning and refrigeration product installers, was accompanied by customs documentation which apparently justified its transit through the Community territory up to the French port of Dunkirk, from where it was to continue, by sea, towards the United Arab Emirates.
However, after stopping the vehicle during a checkpoint activated in the motorway rest area of Roncade in the province of Treviso, the Treviso financial police analysed the travel documentation exhibited by the driver, discovering inconsistencies.
The articulated lorry had actually left from a Slovakian customs warehouse, but was not headed for the aforementioned French port, but rather to a town in the Salerno area, the address of which had also been stored in the driver's satellite navigator.
The goods had a commercial value of one million euros
Once the actual destination of the product had been ascertained, it was considered to have been introduced into the national territory under the smuggling.
The Public Prosecutor's Office of Treviso has validated the emergency criminal seizure of the gas, which, if placed on the market, would have allowed for the obtaining of proceeds of over one million euros.
The service activity of the Guardia di Finanza of Treviso has allowed to prevent the commercialization, in Italy, of a product seriously damaging to the ecosystem and to confirm the importance, for an effective contrast of illicit trafficking, of the control of the primary and secondary roads of the regional territory, through a constant presence of road patrols.
In short
Smuggling of polluting refrigerant gas and dishonest entrepreneurs but above all polluters.
- A total of 13,6 tons of non-regenerated refrigerant gas, stored in 1.360 R404A and R507A cylinders, originating from China…
- As part of an investigation to combat the smuggling of goods from outside the EU, the Guardia di Finanza (Italian Finance Police) seized a…
- 517/2014, from 1 January 2025 this gas cannot be used in pure form in Member States as it is considered…
Key questions
What is the main point of the news?
Smuggling of polluting refrigerant gas and dishonest entrepreneurs but above all polluters.
Why is this news relevant?
A total of 13,6 tons of non-regenerated refrigerant gas, stored in 1.360 R404A and R507A cylinders, originating from China…
Which detail helps us understand the case better?
As part of an investigation to combat the smuggling of goods from outside the EU, the Italian Guardia di Finanza (Italian Finance Police) seized a tractor-trailer from a Polish company...
The article talks about a major seizure but I don't understand why there is so much gas smuggling. I don't know if the laws are clear or not. Maybe more controls would be needed to prevent these things from happening.