Displaying items by tag: Police

Switzerland: Police have cleared 150 squatters from the site of a planned expansions to LafargeHolcim subsidiary Holcim Schweiz’s Mormont quarry in Vaud. Reuters News has reported that officers made 34 arrests. The squatters claimed to be protesting in the interests of biodiversity protection and CO₂ emissions reduction.

India: Odisha police have successfully shut down a fake cement operation in Jagatpur. The New Indian Express newspaper has reported that the unit was producing fake cement using various raw materials including marble dust and artificial colours. The unit had reportedly been in operation since as early as 2015.

Assistant police commissioner Amarendra Panda said, “The factory and the go-down have been sealed. The investigation is on to ascertain since when the factory was operational, the source of raw materials and the destinations or shops where the products were supplied. It is also being ascertained whether the owner of the unit is part of a racket engaged in manufacturing adulterated cement.” This is the third fake cement unit uncovered in the city since late 2020.

India: Jagatpur police have raided a counterfeit cement bagging facility in Jagatpur Industrial Estate, Cuttack. Odisha TV News has reported that the operation is suspected of using marble dust, small amounts of white cement and artificial colouring in the fake product. Large amounts of empty packaging from several different cement brands were recovered in the raid. The police made one arrest and seized a vehicle.

Mexico: Police have received arrest warrants for three leaders of an alleged criminal network which stole 10,000t of cement from Cooperativa La Cruz Azul. The El Universal newspaper has reported that the accused stole the cement by running a parallel accounting system from within the company. They sold the stolen cement via the company Azul Concretos y Premezclados.

India: Police have made arrests in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh where cement was being bagged in falsely branded UltraTech Cement bags. The Free Press Journal has reported that the authorities confiscated over 1000 bags in the raid. They believe that the plant has been operative since 2018. Investigations continue, including a manhunt for suspected ringleader Jitendra Singh.

India: Police have fired warning shots after protesters outside LafargeHolcim subsidiary ACC’s Sindri cement plant in Jharkhand threw stones at them, according to the Pioneer newspaper. Sub-divisional manager Satyendar Kumar’s officers made three arrests. Residents of Dhanbad district are reportedly protesting a lack of local jobs. ACC had been in talks with local people when the disturbance broke out.

Canada: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s serious crime unit has launched an investigation into the death of one person at Lafarge Canada’s Richmond, British Columbia integrated cement plant on 19 November 2020. The Vancouver Sun newspaper has reported that the incident caused the plant to be evacuated.

Spokesperson Jill Truscott said, "We are in shock and are extremely concerned about the impact to this individual's family and friends. Steps have been taken to protect all employees on site and the surrounding community."

WorkSafe British Columbia is conducting a separate investigation.

Mexico: 18 people have been injured after representatives of Cemento Cruz Azul and police took control of the integrated 2.2Mt/yr Oaxaca plant in Lagunas. The La Jornada newspaper has reported that Cruz Azul’s directors José Antonio Marín and Víctor Manuel Velázquez entered the plant accompanied by security personnel in fulfilment of a court order before fighting broke out with cooperativist members of the organisation. Police arrested five members of the group, allegedly linked to a criminal organisation, while the Cruz Azul representatives successfully retook control of the plant.

Cooperativists restricted access to the plant in August 2020. The board of directors of Cruz Azul also asserted legal control of its Cementos y Concretos Nacionales (CYCNA) subsidiary cement plants in Puebla and Aguascalientes in September 2020.

Mexico: The board of directors of Cemento Cruz Azul has asserted legal control of its Cementos y Concretos Nacionales (CYCNA) subsidiary cement plants in Puebla and Aguascalientes following accusations of ‘looting’ by partners in the company. In a video statement José Antonio Marín, president of the board of directors, said that the move would give the producer greater control over its operations since all cement would be registered in an internal audit programme, according to the Milenio newspaper. He alleged that some partners of the company had sold cement manufactured at the units independently.

José Antonio Cárdenas has been appointed manager of the CYCNA plants to replace Benito Rodríguez Fayad. Fayad allegedly had links to Cruz Azul’s former director Guillermo ‘Billy’ Álvarez, a former director of the company who is currently being investigated by law enforcement for links to organised crime and money laundering.

Zimbabwe: The National Social Security Authority (NSSA) has lifted a prohibition order which it issued to Livetouch Investments subsidiary Diamond Cement after the death of a worker on 6 March 2020 at the company’s 0.4Mt/yr Redcliff grinding plant. The incident brought to light “sub-standard safety and security arrangements.” The Chinese-owned company had also failed to register any employees under the NSSA’s Workers’ Compensation Insurance Fund (WCIF) and the National Pension Scheme (NPS).

The New Zimbabwe newspaper has reported that the NSSA lifted the prohibition order in mid-September 2020 after the company was found to have complied with its registration and safety requirements. NSSA communications officer Tendai Mutseyekwa said, “After a joint visit by the NSSA’s Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate and the Compliance Inspectorate, the company registered with the NSSA schemes. They subsequently settled their subscriptions for the two NSSA schemes from the effective date of 4 April 2017, when the company started operating.”

A police investigation into the fatality continues.