Man arrested for taking 15,000 euros worth of donations for eruption victims
Santa Cruz De Tenerife, Spain, Dec 3 (EFE).- Spanish authorities on Friday arrested a man who has been accused of stealing 15,000 euros worth of donations that had been collected for those affected by an ongoing volcanic eruption on the island of La Palma.
The detainee had allegedly secured the goods after signing up to volunteer for a Tenerife charity and was selling the products in second-hand shops, the Civil Guard police reported.
The scammer allegedly offered his help to the charity saying he was the manager of a fictitious charitable organization and provided three containers and his services to transport the donations from Tenerife to La Palma, the statement said.
When Tenerife charity realized the goods had not been delivered, they contacted the alleged scammer and he sent them a video in which several people could be seen unloading and distributing the goods.
Since then, investigators have verified that the containers are in the same place where they were loaded, in the town of San Isidro on Tenerife, and Civil Guard officers have conducted several searches.
Meanwhile, the Cumbre Vieja volcano continues to rumble and spew ash and lava.
Around 13 earthquakes were recorded by the National Geographic Institute during the early hours of Friday and have ranged between 2.2 and 3.1 magnitude quakes on the Richter scale at a depth of between 9 and 17 kilometers.
Of the 13 quakes, 11 took place in Fuencaliente and 2 in Villa de Mazo.
The volcanic eruption began on September 19 and has covered vast swathes of the island in molten rock and ash. EFE
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