Last summer, the drugs clans in Palma's Son Banya erected a 'fortification' some two metres high in places. Among other things, this barricade comprised building waste. The town hall eventually dismantled it, but the question arose - where did all this rubbish come from? Another question was - where did it all go?
There are still great piles of waste in the 40,000-square-metre shanty town. The town hall estimates it amounts to at least 2,500 tonnes. The main reason is that the clans have a subsidiary line of business to their drugs trade - builders can dump waste in Son Banya at a considerably lower cost than that charged by recycling plants. Trucks arrive during the night. They are loaded with bricks, stone and other material.
As well as the building waste, there are all the old household goods - fridges, bathtubs, mattresses and so on. An explanation for some of this, investigators believe, is that loyal drugs customers are allowed to dump this stuff in return for their loyalty. It's a perk for not going to rival clans elsewhere in the city.
There are loads of burned-out cars, probably stolen and taken to Son Banya to be destroyed. These cars can discharge polluting liquids, which can seep into the subsoil.
After the town hall knocked down the fortification, much of the stuff just seemed to vanish. It is suspected that at least some of it was buried. Police have come across two excavators. The land, which was once completely flat, does now have mounds.
The town hall is in the process of completing a report. This will be forwarded to the Guardia Civil's Seprona division, which investigates crimes against the environment. Crimes have surely been committed, but identifying those responsible is quite a different matter.
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If only the government would grow a pair and do something for once and for all.
'but identifying those responsible is quite a different matter.' Surely a few cameras would do that. It's really not that complicated.