Tension in Salou after police raid on street vendor warehouses

'Top Manta' street vendors blocked the Miramar promenade in Salou on Thursday morning following a police raid of two warehouses in the coastal town.

The vendors called off their protest early in the afternoon following an agreement with the police to open a mediation process.

Around 30 street vendors left after removing the bins they had placed on the road, leading to the police to withdraw.

More than 130 officers were present, mainly Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) but also the town's local police.

Salou councilor responsible for citizen security, Sebastià Domínguez, criticized neighboring Cambrils Town Council for not providing "effective political solutions" to deal with the conflict between street vendors and authorities.

Large operation

The Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) deployed a large operation on the streets of Salou – a popular coastal town in southern Catalonia – to prevent rising tensions among street vendors known as Top Manta.

Early on Thursday morning, members of Spain's Guardia Civil raided two warehouses in the town that were being used to store merchandise.

Around thirty vendors gathered in protest from early in the morning.

They positioned themselves between Carrer del Sol and Passeig Miramar, where they knocked over trash cans and scattered rubbish on the ground to block access.

Riot control units (ARRO) closely monitored the protest.

Mossos mediators met with representatives of the street vendors in an attempt to defuse the situation. No arrests were made.

Police raid

The Civil Guard raid on the two warehouses, located on València Street and Sol Street, began at around 6:30am.

In total, 8,336 items were confiscated, mainly sportswear – football team shirts and tracksuits – as well as sneakers, bags and caps.

The products, with labels and logos of well-known brands, are suspected to be counterfeit, pending confirmation from the official expert report.

Their estimated market value is €1.2 million.