European police have seized over a thousand tonnes of pesticides illegal acrossEurope, a record number sufficient to spray all of the agricultural land in Germany, Europol announced on Wednesday 3 June.
The large-scale operation between January and April led to the seizure of 1,346 tonnes of the pesticides, the European police agency said in a statement.
This amount could be enough to spray more than all the agricultural land in Germany, which represents almost half of the country, and almost 75% of the agricultural land in France.
, said Europol, headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands.
A record number of 1 346 tonnes of illegal pesticides taken off the market in 2020 global operation Silver Ax. This quantity could be enough to spray 207,000 km2 or to fill 458 Olympic-sized pools.
Read our press release here: https://t.co/WxBGhBVpMa pic.twitter.com/4K8EHt8jQG– Europol (@Europol) June 3, 2020
Dangerous components for health
Many components of these pesticides came from Asia, particularly from China and Japan, but also from Mexico and the United States, said Nothing van Diesen, a Europol expert.
According to the agency, bogus pesticides can seriously damage agricultural crops, pollute the environment and harm health. Many are also highly flammable, said Rien Van Diesen.
According to the seizures, investigations are still underway in Belgium, France, Germany, Poland, Slovenia and Switzerland, said Europol.
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