CROSBY, Texas – The Harris County Precinct 1 Constable’s Office is investigating what they call a serious crime against the environment in Crosby, Texas.

Last Thursday, environmental investigators were called to 1017 Church Street and discovered tens of thousands of gallons of oil buried illegally at the property.

“It was buried here and it is everywhere," said Harris County Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen. “You can smell it, you can see it and it is oozing out of the ground as we dig.”

Rosen says investigators were tipped off by a citizen who saw oil flowing into a nearby drainage ditch.

During the investigation, Rosen says members of his Environmental Crimes division discovered ruptured barrels of oil buried deep in the ground in layers on the property.

That oil was then discovered leaking into a nearby drainage ditch and was found to have flowed at least a quarter of a mile away from the site through that ditch.

“This is a very serious environmental case,” Rosen said.

Property owner Wesley Zarsky has not been arrested or charged as of Friday night.

The Harris County Attorney’s Office has filed a restraining order forbidding Zarsky from dumping any kind of hazardous waste or oil on the property.

Crews are working to try and clean up the leaking oil and prevent it from spreading further into surrounding waterways.