Spanish authorities announced on Tuesday (January 3rd) the dismantling of an organization that sent more than 5,000 tonnes of hazardous electronic waste from the Canary Islands to several African countries, including Senegal, Nigeria, Mauritania and Ghana.
The Spanish Customs and Civil Guard have “dismantled” a “criminal organization which, during the last two years, had managed to send from the island [espagnole] from Gran Canaria to Africa more than 5,000 tons of hazardous waste from electronic devices, obtaining an economic benefit of more than 1.5 million euros”the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.
Mercure, plomb, cadmium, arsenic, phosphore
This waste contains substances and gases that damage the ozone layer and contribute to global warming, the statement added. They were sent by boat, ” mostly “ in Mauritania, Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal.
Authorities arrested 43 people “for alleged offenses against the environment, forgery and use of forgery, and membership of a criminal organization”. This last “removed waste from the legal stream” using a “supposed management company that falsified provenance and management records”detailed the authorities.
This waste was then presented as second-hand items to be sent to these African countries. However, this waste, which contains mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic and phosphorus in particular, must be handed over to authorized companies for decontamination.