'Green police' raids business for storing used hazardous materials

Israel Police detained the suspects who were at the scene and questioned them, as well.

The Israel Today and Tomorrow delegation visits the Kerem-El premilitary school in Daliyat Al-Karmel for Druze and Jewish Israelis (photo credit: YOAV DEVIR KKL-JNF)
The Israel Today and Tomorrow delegation visits the Kerem-El premilitary school in Daliyat Al-Karmel for Druze and Jewish Israelis
(photo credit: YOAV DEVIR KKL-JNF)
Investigators from the Environmental Protection ministry, in coordination with the Israel Police, conducted a raid Sunday on a used oil complex in the town Daliyat el-Karmel, located in the Haifa District, for operating without a license, according to a press release from the ministry on Sunday.
In addition to shutting down the business's operations, investigators also confiscated documents and digital media, while taking soil samples to determine the degree of environmental damage in the area, a result of leaks from barrels containing used oil and hazardous materials. 
The Environmental Protection Ministry investigators and Israel Police were allowed to enter the site of the private business after receiving a court-order to search the complex, after it was determined that the owners lacked both a license and toxin permit for handling hazardous waste. 
Israel Police detained the suspects who were at the scene and questioned them, as well.
In response to the raid, Environmental Protection Minister Likud MK Gila Gamliel said that "Collecting, storing, and treating used oils without a permit or in violation of environmental requirements is a phenomenon that produces severe hazards at the local level, and causes soil contamination and air pollution that affect civilians and the environment."
She added that "The Ministry of Environmental Protection's Green Police will continue to take enforcement action in order to eradicate the phenomenon and deal legally with those involved."