Germany has begun a controversial series of nuclear waste transports in North Rhine-Westphalia, its most populous state, a state interior ministry spokesperson told DPA news agency. The first convoy, carrying a 'Castor' container, left the former research reactor site in the western city of Jülich late on Tuesday and arrived at a temporary storage facility in the city of Ahaus early Wednesday after about four hours of travel. The shipment was secured with intensive police presence, with around 2,400 police officers deployed. This operation is the first of 152 planned transports of radioactive waste. It is planned to transport about 300,000 fuel elements from the Jülich reactor, which has been shut down for a long period. The transport operations follow a series of court rulings, including a decision by a higher administrative court in March this year that allowed the transports to proceed. An environmental group, 'Bund', had sought to block the operations, citing safety concerns during transport. The waste has been temporarily stored in Jülich since the site's operating license expired in 2013. State authorities ordered its removal in 2014 due to safety concerns in the event of earthquakes. The plan has faced opposition from local residents and activists, who have organized several protests along the transport route.