3 GHANAIANS Arrested In SPAIN: TOXIC Waste or Spare-Parts DEALERS?
While most people are distracted by politics and entertainment, a major environmental crime aimed at Ghana was stopped just in time.
On August 8, 2025, Spanish police broke up a smuggling ring that was sending hazardous waste to Ghana. Three Ghanaian nationals were arrested in Seville, and another suspect in Murcia is under investigation.
The bust happened after customs officers at the Port of Algeciras found a suspicious container. Inside were 19 tonnes of dangerous materials — car engines, fuel tanks still with gasoline, and other oil-soaked waste. Authorities also discovered forged documents, proving this was no accident. It was a planned operation to get Europe’s toxic waste into Africa.
International laws like the Basel Convention forbid sending hazardous waste to countries that can’t process it safely. But smugglers take advantage of weak enforcement and the high cost of disposal in Europe.
While Spain calls it “waste,” in Ghana these items are often sold as brand new. Mechanics and car owners buy them thinking they are getting good parts, but many engines don’t even work. Instead of offering cheaper alternatives to new parts, greedy spare parts dealers buy them for almost nothing and sell them at full new-engine prices.
While Spanish police see this as an environmental crime, in reality, it’s also a business scam. The waste becomes a money-making scheme that targets unsuspecting consumers in Ghana and other African countries. These people should be treated as bio-terrorists and fraudsters.
This illegal trade harms twice: it poisons the environment and it cheats consumers out of their money. Ghana’s government must crack down on this black market and guide buyers to regulated sellers who give real value for money.
In January 2023, Spanish authorities stopped another network that smuggled over 5,000 tonnes of toxic electronic waste to West Africa, including Ghana. That operation made at least €1.5 million in profit using fake recycling papers.
If this latest shipment had gone through, it would have been another silent disaster for Ghana. Hazardous waste doesn’t vanish — it stays, poisons, and kills slowly. Ghana, like other African nations, is targeted because dumping waste here is cheap. Unless governments treat this as environmental terrorism, it will keep happening.
For more information or to report such crimes:
- Ghana Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): https://epa.gov.gh
- Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition: https://www.miteco.gob.es
- Basel Convention Secretariat (UN): https://www.basel.int
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