A gravel-hauling ring dumped construction waste across hillsides and farmland in Hsinchu, leaving a cleanup bill that could pass NT$100 million — bad for landowners, taxpayers, and the local environment.

• Prosecutors say a man surnamed Su ran trucks that took construction waste from building sites without any legal permit, undercutting licensed disposal firms on price.
• Landowners were talked into signing "land-grading" or gardening contracts, then found their plots turned into dump sites.
• Raids turned up more than 10,000 cubic meters of dumped waste — plastic pipe, wiring, broken tile, scrap rebar, wood, and cloth mixed into the soil.
• Over 10 people were caught; about NT$10 million in property has been seized to help pay for restoration.

Outlook: Su and others have been indicted and held in custody, and investigators are still tracing the truck fleets and companies that fed the operation.