TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taichung prosecutors said Wednesday they indicted 80 suspects after an investigation into organized waste dumping that reached military bases, farms, fish ponds, river land, and protected wetlands.
The Taichung District Prosecutors Office said the case was part of “Net Soil Project 2.0,” an operation that has brought in 164 people since September 2023 and targeted four groups accused of profiting from illegal waste disposal, CNA reported.
Investigators said the network connected legal waste handlers, factories, and clearance firms to unlicensed transfer points and final dumping sites. Waste sources were traced to at least nine counties and cities, while dumping sites were found in at least seven, per CNA.
The groups allegedly used six separate truck fleets and chose remote state land where inspections were difficult. Prosecutors said waste was dumped on river land, fish farms, farmland, and military bases in Taichung.
UDN reported that waste was found at Army 10th Corps sites in Daya, Longjing, and Qingshui after military personnel noticed dumping and alerted authorities.
The case also involved the Gaomei Wetlands area, where suspects allegedly dumped about 4,000 cubic meters of construction waste on nearby agricultural land before filing paperwork meant to make the trips look legitimate, per UDN. Prosecutors said protected areas were backfilled with waste, while some industrial waste tested positive for dioxins, a highly toxic persistent environmental pollutant.
Prosecutors measured the dumped material at 157,438 cubic meters, weighing 94,463 tonnes, UDN reported. Cleanup and restoration costs are estimated to be in excess of NT$1 billion (US$31.7 million).
Authorities seized 107 vehicles and pieces of heavy equipment, including excavators and tractors, as well as NT$88.94 million in assets. They also asked a court to confiscate another NT$10 million.
Prosecutors said they used GPS tracking, aerial evidence gathering, digital forensics, financial analysis, and cross-agency data checks to map the network, per UDN. They said companies and individuals tied to the dumped waste would be made responsible for restoring the damaged sites.
