SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, March 15 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Agents of the Local Police of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, assigned to the Anaga service, detected 30 specimens of a plant included in the Spanish catalog of invasive species in a shop window of a store in the capital.
The policemen were patrolling through the center of the city when they stopped in front of said establishment and verified that the plants were of the species ‘Cortadería seollana’, also known as ‘Hierba de la pampas’ or ‘Plumacho pampero’.
This plant appears in the Spanish Catalog of Invasive Species, included in the list of invasive species of concern for outermost regions such as the Canary Islands.
The local police officers met with the owner of the premises and informed her of this situation, managing to find out that the plants had been collected in a ravine in the upper area of Santa Úrsula by a friend of this woman.
The agents proceeded to process the appropriate administrative infringement report and report all the risks that this invasive species poses to the natural habitats of the Canary Islands and its endemic species. Said complaint was sent to the Agency for the Protection of the Urban and Natural Environment of the Government of the Canary Islands.
The staff of the Canary Islands Exotic Species Intervention Detection Network (Redexos) were then informed of all this, who went to the scene and took care of the 30 specimens of this plant. The policemen managed to find out that, according to the testimony of the accused, an acquaintance had been responsible for bringing her those plants for their decorative value.