The Civil Guard intervened in the framework of the Canaleja operation some 45 tons of lithium batteries in a clandestine warehouse located in a single-family home in Otero de Herreros, in the province of Segovia. This is the most important operation carried out both in Spain and at a European level due to the significant volume of waste intervened.
In addition, the operation resulted in the arrest of a person, accused of various crimes such as risk caused by explosion or other agents, against natural resources and the environment, against public finances and against social security.
It is estimated that the criminal could have obtained a profit of more than a million and a half euros with the sale of batteries on the illicit market.
The investigation began last January, when the agents verified how a person who lived in the urbanization of that town was engaged with some frequency to load and unload “in an unusual way” at his home palletized merchandise that was transported in trucks.
In addition, the investigators found that he was carrying out a series of suspicious transactions from other countries, with the irregular introduction of lithium batteries into Spain without any type of control or administrative authorization.
Once they entered the interior of the house, the agents discovered that the entire lower part of the house had been excavated to gain space. It is there where the largest number of batteries were stored, some of them in a clear state of deterioration and manipulation.
In addition, in the patio of the house he had installed a container for the transport of goods where he had stored the material that was in better conditions. The house also had a workshop with the necessary tools to carry out the manipulation of the devices for their reconditioning.
Despite the security measures he adopted to avoid being identified, said material was later being sold to buyers, both in Spain and abroad, through different online sales pages and private instant messaging groups.
The handling and manipulation of this type of material supposes a significant risk due to the danger that a chemical element as dangerous as lithium is considered to entail. According to regulations, this substance causes skin corrosion that leads to irreversible skin damage.
For this reason, said material has to be transported in adequate safety conditions through the use of vehicles with ADR authorization for the transport of dangerous goods, something that did not happen in this case since the detainee never informed the transport companies of the content. of the material they were in charge of.
To remove these almost 45 tons of batteries, they had to have the support of a company specialized in handling this type of waste.
The operation was carried out by the Information Headquarters (UCE3) of the Civil Guard and the Information Group of the Command of the Civil Guard of Segovia and with the support of the Central Operating Unit for the Environment (UCOMA) of Seprona and the Cynological Service .
