Traffic cops make arrests in Spain after diesel pollution cheat device scam uncovered – with links to UK

FOUR people have been arrested by police in Spain after roadside checks uncovered a pollution cheat device racket and Europol are now on the case after enquiries uncovered links to France and the UK too.

Spain’s Guardia Civil allegedly found one Madrid haulage company with 30 diesel lorries in their fleet that were fitted with emulators that disable the pollution control system on lorries.

The emulators work by tricking the lorry’s electronic system into “thinking” that the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) control system is functioning correctly, when in reality it is not functioning at all.

Europol said: “Operators using these devices do not have to bear the cost of purchasing Adblue fluid or maintaining the complex SCR system on their vehicles. These emulators however allows the lorries to produce unregulated amounts of harmful nitrogen oxides well above the safe level.

“Adblue is an additive which converts harmful nitrogen oxide from a diesel vehicle exhaust into harmless nitrogen and water steam. This process considerably reduces the emission of nitrogen oxide, which is a major source of air pollution.

Investigations started over a year ago and involved police, transport companies, lorry manufacturers and Adblue representatives.

Intelligence uncovered during this investigation has been passed on to Europol as several connections were made with France and the United Kingdom.