Operation against drug and weapon traffickers continues with more raids
Catalan police enter homes north of Barcelona a day after some 40 people were arrested
The major Catalan police operation against drug and weapon trafficking continued on Saturday with more raids in the Maresme county, just north of Barcelona.
The Catalan police raided a private property in Alella the day after having arrested some forty people related to a criminal organization based in Badalona.
The head of the criminal investigation division, Antonio Rodríguez, explained that "the results are satisfactory" and he did not rule out that there could be more arrests in the coming days.
To enter the homes, the Mossos used radial saws to break through the double armored door of some of the homes, a strategy followed by drug traffickers to gain time and destroy evidence.
The presence of the traffickers had generated unease and fear among neighbors in the Badalona area. "The objective of this type of operation is also to reverse the situation of fear and to restore peace to the neighborhood," said the high-ranking Badalona police officer, Alfons Sarrias.
More than 600 agents participated in a massive operation on Friday that dismantled one of the “most prominent” drug gangs in the Barcelona region, which also had members dedicated to the arms trade and money laundering.
In total, there were more than thirty raids between Badalona and other municipalities such as Viladecans, Sant Celoni, Alella, Santa Coloma de Gramenet or Riells and Viabrea.