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Date Published: 16/02/2022

ARCHIVED - Criminal group specialised in water theft from the Guadalentin dismantled

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

Around 2 million cubic metres of water was illegally extracted to irrigate farms in Murcia

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Criminal group specialised in water theft from the Guadalentin dismantled

The Guardia Civil in the Region of Murcia has dismantled a large criminal group dedicated to the theft and sale of water from the Guadalentin subsoil. Operation ‘Aquifer,’ which is still a live investigation, was launched at the end of 2020 and as part of the latest coup, three people have been arrested and a further 17 are being questioned.

Five agricultural companies have also been linked to the illegal operation.

The gang stands accused of crimes against natural resources and the environment, fraud, usurpation and the removal of groundwater from the Rambla del Talayon, municipal areas of Lorca and Águilas.

The plot was rumbled when agents from the Nature Protection Service (Seprona) discovered a well that was extracting enormous amounts of water from the Guadalentin area; further investigation revealed that the system not only lacked the permits required by agricultural businesses, but that the water was being extracted by a portable generator located 100 metres away.

Also of interest: Illegal irrigation cut off in more than 1,000 hectares of Mar Menor farmland

A hidden underground pipeline around 12 kilometres long was uncovered, which is believed to have been illegally irrigating 24 farms totalling a surface area of 125 hectares. At a time when the regional government is striving to clamp down on these illicit agricultural operations, the criminals are believed to have fraudulently extracted around two million cubic metres of water.

In addition to overusing the aquifer, the clandestine irrigation of crops greatly increases the risk of contaminating groundwater with fertilisers and other harmful chemicals. The operation was also located on land belonging to the Natura 2000 Network, created to protect natural resources from the loss of biodiversity.

Seprona added that the activity could also alter the habitat of several species which have settled near the Rambla, many of which are included in the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Now read: Aguilas chosen for first marine species cultivation centre in Murcia

Image: Guardia Civil

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