Treasure hunters unearthed a protected sand dune nature reserve after influential people buried €1,000 (£850) and told their followers to find it in Gran Canaria.
The money was buried in the Maspalomas Dunes, in the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, in the south of the island.
A group of influencers had published a video that said: ‘Let’s go for €1,000!’
An excited crowd then gathered to search for a briefcase containing the money, buried to create publicity for a concert.
Followers flocked to the site armed with shovels and shovels to search for the money, news website. Canary Islands Weather reports.
A group could be seen running across the sand towards the hidden briefcase, before digging with their shovels and bare hands.
A group could be seen running through the Maspalomas Dunes towards the hidden briefcase, before digging with their shovels and bare hands.
The Maspalomas Dunes in the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana in the south of the island
“They have given us 1,000 euros to promote the event and instead of burning them in television advertisements we are going to hide them all over the island,” says the promotional video.
“The first person to find it will keep it.”
The Cabildo of Gran Canaria is investigating the incident that occurred on Saturday in the natural park of a protected area and is preparing a complaint that will be presented to the Prosecutor’s Office, as reported by Tiempo de Canarias.
The company promoting the concert is also being investigated, The times reports.
DN7 Festival hired a collective of social media activists to promote the event.
They are accused of ignoring the fact that the reserve is a protected area with a unique and fragile ecosystem, according to the newspaper.
In September, authorities vowed to get tougher on visitors who break the law by having sex in the dunes, which can cause damage to the stunning but fragile ecosystem. It was thought that swingers included a high proportion of British people.
Authorities on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria have targeted swingers in the sand dunes, among whom there are believed to be a high proportion of Britons.
The tiny island off the north-west coast of Africa, part of the eight-member Canary Islands archipelago and long a favorite of sun-seeking Brits, has been handing out record fines on outdoor sex tourists free since the practice became popular after the pandemic.
Spanish-language media quoted a local government official as saying, as authorities began formulating a plan to stop all outdoor sex: “Since the pandemic ended, people have gone crazy.”
Research carried out by Professor Patrick Hesp, of Flinders University in Australia, found a staggering number of almost 300 “cruise spots” in the 1,000-acre Maspalomas Dunes nature reserve in the resort town of Playa del English in Maspalomas, south of Gran Canaria.
The dunes, a major tourist attraction, are home to unique species of plants and animals, and the bushes help anchor the ever-moving sands and prevent them from blowing into the nearby Atlantic Ocean.
Authorities have vowed to get tougher on visitors who break the law by having sex in the dunes, which can cause damage to the stunning but fragile ecosystem.
But he has warned that tourists eager to strip naked to have sex with strangers in the bush are not only damaging plant life but also scaring away birds and lizards and leaving behind piles of beer cans, cigarette butts and used condoms.
In 2000, measures were put in place to control the crowds of dune-goers: environmental officers patrolled the area and fined anyone caught straying beyond the cordoned-off areas around €150.
But last year, as tourism surged after two years of Covid travel restrictions, the number of fines increased six-fold to 120, compared with just 20 in 2022, local authorities said.
Tourists and foreign residents in Playa del Inglés were outwitting environmental officials by informing each other about where and when they are seen and at what time they leave the area, according to sex group posts on Facebook.
Some warned that it is “safe” to go to the dunes for casual sex after 2:00 or 3:00 p.m., by which time patrol officers have already finished for the day.