Outage as treasure hunters dig up protected sand dune after influencers ‘buried a thousand euros in nature reserve and told followers to find it’ in Gran Canaria

Treasure hunters have sparked outrage by unearthing a protected nature reserve of sand dunes after influencers buried €1,000 (£850) and told their followers to find it in Gran Canaria.

The money was buried in the dunes of Maspalomas in the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana in the south of the island.

A group of influencers had posted a video with the caption: ‘Let’s go for €1,000!’

Excited crowds then gathered to search for a briefcase containing the money, buried to create publicity for a concert.

Followers flocked to the site on Saturday armed with shovels and shovels to search for the money website Tiempo de Canarias reports.

A group could be seen running across the sand towards the hidden trunk 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

“We have been given €1,000 to promote the event, and instead of burning it in TV commercials we are going to hide them all over the island,” the promotional video said.

‘The first one who finds it gets to keep it.’

The municipality of Gran Canaria is investigating the incident that took place in the nature reserve in a protected area and plans to prepare a complaint to be filed with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Tiempo de Canarias said.

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 that the reserve is a protected area with a unique and fragile ecosystem, the newspaper said.

Followers flocked to the scene on Saturday armed with shovels and shovels to search for the money

In September, authorities promised to take extra tough action against visitors who break the law by having sex in the dunes, which can cause damage to the ecosystem. It was assumed that swingers included a large proportion of British people.

The small 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 handed out record fines to open-air sex tourists since the practice became popular after the pandemic.

A local government official was quoted by Spanish-language media as authorities began formulating a plan to end all outdoor sex.

“Since the end of the pandemic, people have gone crazy,” the official said.

Research conducted by Professor Patrick Hesp of Flinders University in Australia has found an astonishing number of almost 300 ‘cruising hotspots’ in the 1,000 hectare Maspalomas Dunes Nature Reserve.

The dunes – a major tourist attraction – are home to unique plant and animal species, and shrubs help anchor the ever-moving sand and keep it from blowing into the nearby Atlantic Ocean.

Officials on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria targeted swingers in the sand dunes – probably including a large proportion of Britons

Authorities have vowed to take extra tough action against visitors who break the law by having sex in the dunes, which could cause damage to the stunning but fragile ecosystem

But authorities have warned that tourists eager to undress for sex with strangers among the bushes 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 introduced to control the large numbers of dune goers, with environmental officers patrolling the area and issuing fines of around €150 for anyone caught straying outside the cordoned off areas.

But last year, as tourism soared after two years of Covid travel restrictions, the number of fines increased sixfold to 120, compared to just 20 in 2022, local authorities said.

Tourists and foreign residents of Playa del Inglés outsmarted environmental officials by telling each other where and when they see them and what time they leave the area, according to posts from sex groups on Facebook.

Some said it is ‘safe’ to go to the dunes for casual sex after 2 or 3 p.m., by which time the patrolling officers have already left for the day.