Intensified controls in the Land of Fires drastically reduce waste fires.

During the second half of August and the first few days of September 2026, a joint effort by law enforcement agencies intensified checks in the Land of Fires, resulting in a significant reduction in waste fires. Approximately 1200 patrols conducted a total of 3.700 checks, verifying 4.310 people and 3.192 vehicles.

Twenty-nine people were reported to the judicial authorities for various environmental crimes, including waste dumping and abandonment, illegal transportation and management, and illegal burning.

The operation also involved businesses and production sites, with six seizures in Afragola, Boscoreale, Cercola, Santa Maria la Carità, Castelvolturno, and Villaricca, despite the closure of many businesses. Forty-five vehicles used for the illegal transportation of waste were seized, including vans and three-wheelers, many of which were not registered with the National Register of Environmental Managers. Administrative fines totaled approximately €270,000.

In the province of Caserta, the provincial police seized three properties between Mondragone and the right bank of the Volturno River containing hazardous waste such as asbestos, as well as a 300-square-meter stretch of beach in Levagnole affected by illegal dumping. In Cancello and Arnone, a property containing asbestos sheets likely stored illegally was seized.

In Naples, the Metropolitan Police shut down an illegal car wash that was discharging untreated liquids directly into the sewer. In Giugliano, local police discovered 200 used tires piled up on a private property during inspections of illegal construction.

Hidden cameras in the most critical areas allowed the identification and prosecution of three cases of illegal waste dumping using vehicles in Caivano, Torre del Greco, and San Paolo Belsito, resulting in the seizure of the vehicles and the suspension of the driving licenses of those responsible. Two additional incidents, one of which involved flagrante delicto, were detected in Aversa and Terzigno, with similar measures being taken.

The joint control room managed 82 interventions, 17 of which involved waste fires. Of these, 10 were promptly identified thanks to surveillance cameras. A particularly significant finding is the reduction in firefighter interventions for waste fires, from 83 in the period from August 15 to 31, 2025, to 62 in the same period in 2026, indicating a significant improvement in the prevention and control of illegal fires.

These results demonstrate the effectiveness of an integrated and continuous control model, even in a complex area like the Land of Fires, where the fight against pollution and environmental crimes remains a priority for local and national institutions.