Shocking video: 167,000 tonnes of rubble dumped in the Axarquía

The Guardia Civil has uncovered a new case of illegal dumping in the Axarquía area of Malaga province, where more than 160,000 tonnes of construction waste are believed to have been dumped on rural plots of land. Operation Cover has investigated 12 individuals and three companies for alleged environmental offences.

According to a statement issued by the Guardia Civil on Saturday 18 April, those under investigation, linked to the construction sector, are alleged to have circumvented legal controls on waste management, opting instead to dump waste illegally on unauthorised land in the Axarquía in order to avoid paying for treatment at specialised facilities.

The materials found include highly hazardous substances such as asbestos, which the Guardia Civil has warned can lead to the contamination of water sources and release harmful toxins into the atmosphere in the event of fires being started by flammable materials being dumped.

The operations have focused on several plots of land in the Axarquía and the information has already been forwarded to the Public Prosecutor’s office for environmental affairs in Malaga city, which will be responsible for continuing the judicial investigation into the case.

This latest incident once again highlights the problem of illegal landfills in the province of Málaga, particularly in rural and agricultural areas, where enforcement is more challenging. Urban development pressure and the volume of waste generated by the construction sector have led to an increase in the number of cases detected by the authorities in recent years.

The illegal landfill in the Arroyo de la Miel quarry area of Nerja has been one of the most high-profile incidents in Malaga province in recent years. The mayor, José Alberto Armijo, the councillor for urban planning, Nieves Atencia and six business leaders all appeared in court accused of allowing unauthorised dumping in a protected area.

However, they were all ultimately acquitted in April 2023, which was subsequently upheld in a final ruling in February 2025; this judicial decision did not prevent the case from highlighting the difficulties of administrative oversight and the legal complexity of this type of offence in rural and tourist areas.

Over a period of 18 years, between 1998 and 2016, more than 802,000 cubic metres of all kinds of waste were dumped in the former Nerja quarry, without authorisation from the Andalusian regional government and in breach of recycling regulations, within the Sierra Almijara natural park, which is a protected area.

The case forms part of a wider campaign against environmental crimes in the province, where the security forces have stepped up surveillance in response to the rise in such offences. The investigation by the Guardia Civil's nature protection service (Seprona) remains open, and further action cannot be ruled out in the coming months.