Suzhou police confirmed on July 4 the news that 4,000 tons of garbage from Shanghai had been secretly poured onto Taihu Xishan Island in Suzhou. At present, the ships that carried the garbage have been detained in Suzhou, and police are investigating the matter further.

As reported by Taihu National Tourism Resort on July 1, eight suspicious vessels covered with tarps were spotted in Jiangdong Village in Suzhou. A total load of about 4,000 tons of mixed construction waste were estimated to be on the boats. After receiving the tip-off, officials from the public security, maritime, environmental protection, urban management and other relevant departments came to the site and detained the eight vessels.

According to the deputy mayor of Suzhou's Wuzhong district, Gu Liming, the local public security department discovered through their investigation that the junk boats were from Shanghai's Jiading district. EPA sampling of water near where the garbage was dumped did not reveal any abnormalities. The effects will continue to be monitored.

According to the owner of the garbage-dumping vessels, it had been planned that several trucks would soon come to transfer the waste to a nearby construction company. The owner said the garbage was intended for construction use, mainly laying pavement during the initial phases of construction.

However, a committee from the tourism resort claims that the construction company cited by the vessels' owner is not a local company. The case is still under investigation. Currently, the vessels' owner and the person in charge of transporting the garbage are both being held by police.