SKAI carried out a large investigation for illegal pesticides, which pass and are trafficked in our country unchecked, directly threatening our health.

Illegal pesticides, full of carcinogenic substances, come mainly from Turkey and Bulgaria and end up in the hands of producers, who – despite the risks – use them, as they are much cheaper.

This year, compared to last year, the Greek authorities have confiscated twice the amount, 100% on top of confiscations so far, explains Giorgos Varelas, head of Finance

Their main country of origin is Turkey.

Illegal pesticides are imported into Greece mainly through Turkey and Bulgaria, inside the caches of cars and trucks, while in one case the economic police located a factory in Northern Greece that was standardizing and packaging illegal pesticides that had been imported in bulk into Greece.

“A standardization laboratory had also been identified as a quantity of pesticides was found in bulk, i.e. in bulk, where there were also suitable machines and instruments for mixing and plasticizing the substances“, says Mr. Varelas.

Over the past five years, 5 tons of illegal pesticides, 10 tons of illegal fertilizers and 100,000 euros in cash and vehicles used to traffic in illegal substances have been seized.

But what are the active substances that the illegal preparations contain and how dangerous are they for public health?

“When we license a product in the E.U. it has passed all safety standards for the final consumer (…) So when someone uses something unknown, it has not been evaluated for the risk it can cause“, states Giorgos Pontikas, president of ESIF.

“There are some substances called nitrosamines which are carcinogenic and which can be present in high concentration and become a public health problem“, emphasizes Eleni Karasali from the Benakeio Phytopathological Institute

What the experts point out is that the quantities of illegal and dangerous pesticides circulating in our country are increasing year by year.

According to Ms. Karasali, for example, in the last year a large amount of seized agricultural drugs arrived at the laboratory, which was three times more than in previous years and in them we found substances that have been banned for at least a decade by the European Union.

Producers – mainly in Northern Greece and Crete – who turn to illegal pesticides do so as they are cheaper and more effective.

But they are indifferent to the danger they pose to consumers.

“Legal pesticides, active substances that are legally marketed should be more competitively priced, there is room for improvement here“, observes Moschos Korassidis, Director General of the National Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (ETH.EAAS).

The competent agency of the State, however, uses the oft-quoted excuse of lack of personnel to cover the absence of checks.

There are also suggestions for changing the legislative framework, with stricter – criminal penalties – for those who commit illegal acts by trafficking such substances.

“Mechanism” of traffic

As the findings of the research are, to say the least, frightening, questions are raised regarding the exact “methodology” of trafficking dangerous substances in the country and, on the other hand, why this is happening more and more in Northern Greece and Crete.

It appears that farmers’ access to illegal products for agricultural crops, which arrive via Turkey and Bulgaria, is easier in the two aforementioned areas.

In fact, according to information there is a specific “sea ​​corridor» from North African countries to the farmers of Crete.

Illegal pesticides seem to be used on all kinds of crops, on fruits and vegetables and even on olive oil crops.

It is also characteristic that a few months ago, a large batch of oil sent from Greece to Spain was seized by the competent authorities there as residues of prohibited substances were detected.

Regarding the trafficking of these prohibited substances, as mentioned above, people go outside the borders and procure them from Bulgaria, Turkey and third countries, importing them into Greece in crypts that they shape into vehicles.

These substances have been deemed prohibited in the EU as their active ingredients are linked to the occurrence of serious diseases such as cancer or Parkinson’s.