police

Police shot down 5 alleged terrorists to stop second attack in coastal town after 13 people die and 100 are injured in Barcelona

Mossos d’Esquadra director expresses confidence in force while internal sources and Spanish government suggest resignation is due to political reasons

Barcelona and Madrid governments hold security coordination meeting for first time in eight years amid mounting tension over referendum

Catalan police Mossos d’Esquadra are expected to be further integrated in antiterrorist coordination efforts at a Spanish and international level 

Executive sidesteps tax office injunction to approve new police intake in move towards objective of 1,500 extra officers

Score of Italian crime syndicate members arrested in Barcelona suspected of money laundering as Catalan executive announces 505 new police officers

Villarejo implies that the head of Spanish police was under the instruction of the Spanish Vice President in order to investigate Catalan pro-independence leaders

Minister of Home Affairs suggests there are “political reasons” behind the decision

The Government affirms that they will add the personnel as planned this June

Early this morning, the Catalan police force (Mossos d’Esquadra) carried out an important anti-jihadist operation in six Catalan municipalities. There were 9 arrests in 12 major raids in Barcelona and the surrounding municipalities of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Cornellà, Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Ripollet, and Masquefa. The Catalan Minister of Home Affairs, Jordi Jané, announced that some of the “arrests made today are in connection with the terrorist attacks in Brussels”. He added that there is no evidence of any planned attack in Catalonia. Jané highlighted the collaboration between the Catalan and Belgian police forces.

Montse Venturós testified before a judge on Friday morning for not taking down an independence flag from the town hall building. The Mayor of Berga was arrested by police and taken to court after failing to attend voluntarily on two occasions. She is accused of an electoral crime and disobedience for ignoring the Electoral Roll Office’s requests to take down the flag from the façade of the Town Hall on two election days: the 27th of September Catalan election and the 20th of December Spanish general election. Her arrest caused an outcry amongst pro-independence parties and also those in favour of the right of Catalonia to hold a referendum on independence. Talking to journalists after testifying before the judge, Venturós confirmed her commitment to the “popular mandate” towards independence and said that her arrest was “a new attack on the Catalan people” by “an absolutely anti-democratic” Spanish state. The Catalan Government has described the arrest as “outrageous”.

Catalonia will keep the terrorist threat level at 4 out of 5 but extra security measures will be put in place. Thus, ‘Mossos d’Esquadra’ will dedicate 30% of their resources to fighting terrorist threats, as they are currently doing, and increase this to 40% in Barcelona. The Catalan Police will also reinforce the anti-terrorist surveillance, especially in the most touristic places. The Spanish Police have already put in place extra security measures on the French border, at La Junquera, to control the traffic and will be stopping vehicles in random checks, asking for documentation and searching for suspicious materials in the boot. These measures are in response to the terrorist attack which killed 84 people in the French city of Nice this past Thursday night. 

The Catalan Police Force ‘Mossos d’Esquadra’, together with the Spanish Police arrested 11 people this Tuesday during an operation against money laundering in Barcelona and the Costa Brava. According to the public prosecutor’s office, ‘Operation Variola’ is aimed at a group of Russian and Ukrainian citizens who have allegedly laundered at least 10m EUR through setting up or buying companies. The individuals arrested allegedly used these businesses to incorporate the earnings they obtained through illegal activities and then used the money to buy properties. Sixteen searches have been carried out, one of the most remarkable was that of ‘Yubari’, an exclusive Japanese restaurant located in the Catalan capital which is a regular hangout of several celebrities.

The eviction of squatters from the so-called ‘Expropriated Bank’ in Barcelona’s Gracia neighbourhood has caused three consecutive nights of riots in the city and has raised concerns in the press about an excessive use of force by the police. The Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, urged the police to avoid “a violent escalation”. Colau, a former activist herself, said that she trusts the Mossos d’Esquadra, the Catalan Police, but admitted to being “worried” by reports that suggest that the riot squad’s behaviour was disproportionate. “I don’t know and I don’t want to prejudge anything. I trust the Mossos but I need to ask for caution and urge all police actions to aim at avoiding any escalation of violence”, she said, asking the officers to, first and foremost, “protect the neighbours”. Meanwhile, the Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating former mayor Xavier Trias, who for a year paid the rent of the ‘Expropriated Bank’ in order to avoid an eviction.

Current Catalan Minister for Home Affairs, Jordi Jané, warned that the jihadist threat in Catalonia is "grave" and insisted that the Government is "offering its hand" and is "willing to collaborate with everyone" in order to fight terrorism. Although he called on citizens to "carry on with their normal lives" Jané announced some measures partly due to the terrorist attacks in Paris. In the short term, the controlling of road access to the main Catalan cities is to be reinforced, as is the level of surveillance in public spaces. In the longer term, Jané announced a protocol to "detect in time the Islamic radicalisation phenomenon" at school and "avoid allowing a terrorism that wants to change mind-sets" to spread. The protocol has already been designed and will be launched shortly. The aim is to work closely with the education community to identify which pupils are more likely to radicalise.