crime

Xavier García Albiol, the Mayor of Badalona – Catalonia’s third largest city and attached to Barcelona – will go on trial accused of the felonies of provocation of hate, discrimination and violence as well as of collective provocative slander. In 2010, before the last municipal elections, García Albiol distributed leaflets that allegedly related Romanian immigrants to crime. During the electoral campaign, he mostly focused his speech on fighting crime and stopping “illegal immigration”. The campaign created a huge controversy in Catalonia and García Albiol was the most voted-for candidate, although with far from an absolute majority. He became the Mayor of Badalona and for the first time ever the People’s Party obtained the mayorship of one of Catalonia’s top 20 most populated cities.

During the Spanish Civil War, from 1936 to 1939, Franco’s rebels received military help from Italy among other countries. The Italian Legionary Air Force, based in Mallorca, was responsible for the aerial bombardment of the city of Barcelona from 16th March to 18th 1938, exactly 75 years ago. For three days, Italian aviation forces bombed civil targets and neighbourhoods and caused the death of approximately a thousand civilians. The bombing of the Catalan capital was one of the most lethal bombing missions of the Spanish Civil War. Barcelona High Court has ordered a full investigation on crimes against humanity.

The American crime fiction writer won the sixth RBA Prize worth €125,000 for his work ‘The Black Box’. The novel, which was the winner out of 217 entries, revolves around an unsolved murder that took place during the Los Angeles Riots 20 years ago. The main character uncovers that the murder was premeditated after finding a bullet linked to the crime and seeks the ‘black box’ needed to solve the case.

Police estimate that 150 pickpockets operate daily in the Catalan capital’s underground, smart phones being the main target. The way the pickpockets target their victims has changed, no longer operating in large groups meaning that they are more “discreet and difficult to stop”. The police report that pickpockets are mainly “recurrent” and mainly come from South America, North Africa and Romania. The situation is evolving in a positive way, with crime rates in Barcelona’s metro decreasing for the second consecutive year.

Lloret de Mar is one of the most popular tourist destinations along the Costa Brava yet some tourists themselves are tearing this beach resort apart. Clashes with police, particularly over the last month, have sparked calls for greater security and a crack-down on the drinking culture that has fostered in the town.

The group dedicated to robbing cars and possessions from unsuspecting drivers at the AP-7 highway has been disbanded by the Catalan police. 13 stolen cars have been recovered and more than 90 people responsible for these crimes arrested.

A pilot programme set up by the Catalan Police in one of Barcelona’s districts will enable tourists to report minor thefts on city streets from their hotels, without needing to go to a police station. The programme will be in place on a trial basis in July and August in 18 hotels. If successful, it could be applied to all Barcelona hotels.

Catalan Police assisted the investigation of an international criminal ring this week. The criminals were involved in money laundering and the financing of cannabis plantations. It is estimated that the group could have spent about 3 million buying properties in Catalonia’s Costa Brava.

In the Northern town of Catalonia, close to Girona, Pere Puig killed his employer and his employer’s son at a bar with a hunting riffle. Puig then left the bar and shot and killed 2 bank employees. The police arrested the man, who immediately confessed to the crimes. Puig had not been paid since May and was scheduled to be fired in the next few days. The Town Council met urgently and declared 3 days of mourning.

At the ceremony held Thursday night in Barcelona, U.S. novelist Harlan Coben received the award for the RBA International Prize for Crime Writing for his novel ‘Live Wire’. The new book reflects on the limits of sincerity and forgiveness and is part of his hit series starring his alter ego, private detective Myron Bolitar.

This summer, cameras and patrolling guards will be emplaced in rest areas of the Barcelona metropolitan region?s highways to prevent robberies.

Six Russian mafia leaders have been detained in Catalonia by the Mossos d?Esquadra, the Catalan Police. The arrested men, whom were detained in Barcelona, Reus, Cambrils, and Salou, will be accused of the falsification of documents, illicit association, a