A hotel chain faces a fine of up to 100,000 euros for large-scale waste dumping on protected land. An investigation began in March after it was discovered that someone had abandoned a total of 14 fibreglass bathtubs in the San Lorenzo ravine near the capital of Gran Canaria, an area of protected land due to its agricultural value.
Officers from the General Policia Canaria Force and the Policia Local of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria have reported the administrator of a hotel chain with establishments on the islands of Gran Canaria, Tenerife, and Fuerteventura for alleged large-scale waste dumping in the municipality of Agüimes and another dump in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
The dumping incidents were discovered and reported by the Environmental Group (GRUMA) of the General Policia Canaria Force and the Policia Local’s Environmental Group of the Mediation and Coexistence Unit (UMEC) in the capital, both of which are responsible for environmental protection.
The police investigation began when, in March, a Local Police officer discovered the 14 fibreglass bathtubs abandoned in the San Lorenzo ravine. Alongside the bathtubs, officers found packaging materials for a type of shower tray sold by a well-known construction materials company based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Telde. This discovery became the key piece of evidence in the investigation.
The Local Police requested information from the company regarding customers who had recently purchased the shower tray, leading them to find a purchase of 25 shower trays made by the administrator of a well-known tourism company with hotels on the islands of Gran Canaria, Tenerife, and Fuerteventura.
Suspecting that the abandoned bathtubs might have come from a renovation project at one of the hotels belonging to the tourism company, the Local Police sought the assistance of the Policia Canaria to conduct an inspection at one of the hotel premises located in the municipality of Mogán.
The inspection carried out by the Regional Police officers confirmed that a renovation project was indeed underway, involving the replacement of bathtubs that matched the characteristics of those found in the San Lorenzo ravine. Furthermore, the hotel company failed to provide evidence of what had been done with the replaced bathtubs, information that they are legally obliged to provide to the police.
However, the investigative work conducted by the Policia Canaria Police officers also revealed that other materials, such as distinctive curtains, were being replaced. These curtains had been observed weeks earlier at a large-scale waste dump near Playa de Vargas beach in the municipality of Agüimes, in another protected scenic area.
As a result, the officers returned to Vargas to conduct a thorough inspection of the large-scale waste dump, where they found various materials, including sheets and curtains with the commercial name of the hotel, as well as bathtubs similar to those found in the San Lorenzo ravine.
Therefore, the Canarian Police and the Local Police have filed a complaint against the businessman for the dumping incidents in the municipalities of Agüimes and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The offender may face fines of up to 100,000 euros and will be required to remedy the environmental damage caused.
