Gang Arrested for 'Sand Swapping' in Green Onion Field... Main Culprit Who Sold Excavated Sand and Buried Sand to Be Disposed Is an 'Environmental Reporter'

Busan Police Arrest Environmental Newspaper Reporter for Illegal Burial of Waste Foundry Sand on Farmland, 20 People Booked

Although it looks like a green onion field, an enormous amount of waste foundry sand is buried beneath it at the site in Gangseo-gu, Busan. [Image source=Busan Police Agency]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] A group that swapped sand dug from green onion fields with industrial waste sand to make a profit was caught by the Busan police.

A total of 21 members of the group who buried thousands of tons of industrial waste discharged from workplaces such as foundry factories in green onion fields were arrested. Among them, one main culprit, a reporter from an environmental newspaper, was detained.

The Violent Crime Investigation Unit of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 22nd that they arrested A (male, in his 50s), who illegally buried about 3,000 tons of 'waste foundry sand,' a type of industrial waste from foundry factories, in farmland such as green onion fields, and illegally extracted about 14,850 tons of 'aggregate (sand)' from the farmland, obtaining an unfair profit worth about 100 million KRW.

Waste foundry sand refers to sand discarded after using silica sand for making molds used in foundry manufacturing.

According to the police, since January, A and others illegally buried approximately 3,125 tons of waste foundry sand, industrial waste discharged from an industrial complex in Jinhae-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongnam, in green onion fields located in Noksan-dong, Gangseo-gu, Busan.

The sand dug out to fill the area was essentially money. They illegally extracted about 14,850 tons of sand used as aggregate for construction sites from 6,208㎡ of farmland using excavators and 25-ton dump trucks.

They earned unfair profits worth approximately 110 million KRW by selling the sand.

B (male, in his 50s), the representative of a waste disposal company, colluded with A, the environmental newspaper reporter, as normal disposal of industrial waste would have incurred significant costs.

They illegally buried waste during nighttime on farmland undergoing embankment work, covered it with soil, and planted crops (green onions) to conceal the crime.

A police official stated, "Through proactive crackdowns, we were able to prevent land damage and farmland pollution, and preemptively block the distribution of agricultural products with a high possibility of contamination by heavy metals and other pollutants."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.