A worldwide circuit, and lucrative operations. Spanish customs and the Civil Guard have “dismantled” a “criminal organization which, in the last two years, had managed to send, from the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, more than 5,000 tons of hazardous waste from electronic devices to Africa”.
The economic benefit of this traffic has been estimated at more than one and a half million euros, according to the Spanish authorities. This waste contains substances and gases that damage the ozone layer and contribute to global warming, said a press release from the Ministry of Finance.
Waste presented as second-hand items in Africa
The waste was sent by boat, “mainly” to Mauritania, Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal. Authorities arrested 43 people “for alleged crimes against the environment” forgery and use of forgery, and membership in a criminal organization.
The band “removed the waste from the legal stream”, using a “supposed management company which falsified documents on provenance and management”, detailed the authorities.
This waste was then presented as second-hand items to be sent to these African countries. However, these scraps, which contain mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic and phosphorus in particular, must be handed over to approved companies authorized to decontaminate them.