All 15 municipal sanitation workers on the popular Cyclades island destination of Milos, along with two local government officials, were arrested this week for allegedly dumping trash at an illegal landfill on the isle renowned for its coves, remote beaches and the place where the Venus de Milo statue was discovered.

The case emerged after a complaint reached judicial authorities over the existence of an illegal landfill operating at the “Flilingos” site in the volcanic island’s interior.

A stake out by police, under the supervision of a prosecutor, reportedly witnessed six garbage trucks operated by municipal crews dumping the rubbish outside the boundaries of the island’s prescribed landfill.

The 17 individuals face two charges: causing pollution and environmental degradation.

The arrests came on Tuesday, while a day later the municipality issued a statement claiming that the case was an instance where the “sanitation department was targeted in order to paralyze its operation amid the tourist season.”

“Milos will not become a battleground for petty political squabbles. What is happening today is an insult to every resident and every visitor. Our island deserves protection – and we have been demanding it for some time now,” the statement by the municipality read, bemoaning the fact that the entire crew of refuse collectors were arrested and that the fleet of garbage trucks impounded during the height of the tourist season.

At the same time, the statement did not touch on the issue of whether the garbage was being dumped in an illegal landfill.