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Taiwan police arrest toxic tricksters
Police in Taiwan have arrested five people suspected of shipping copper-contaminated waste to Australia and China.
The suspects were arrested when police caught them diluting toxic waste with water before making an attempt to dump it into a nearby river in Taipei.
Investigations began in August after officials seized 30 tons of copper-contaminated waste, which the detainees were allegedly trying to ship to Australia, where the metal was to be recycled.
Police say the five confessed they had already illegally exported tons of waste to Australia and China.
Taiwan has stepped up efforts to block illegal waste exports after its chemical giant, Formosa Plastics shipped 3,000 tons of mercury-laden waste mixed with cement to Cambodia in 1998.
The waste was shipped back to Taiwan after Cambodians protested.
The company insisted the waste was not toxic, but riots broke out in Sihanoukville, Cambodia when two people died after reportedly coming into contact with the shipment
23/11/01 11:32:40 | ABC Radio Australia News
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