Barcelona City Council launched Plan Druida on 4 August, a new Guàrdia Urbana strategy targeting drug use and street-level dealing in public spaces.

For residents living near properties or public areas affected by repeated dealing and consumption, the plan promises permanent police units at identified hotspots rather than short-term operations that may displace activity elsewhere. The Guàrdia Urbana is Barcelona’s municipal police force.

The council said the strategy responds to greater availability of drugs and new forms of distribution. It combines a stronger police presence with an operational intelligence system and closer work with the Mossos d’Esquadra, Catalonia’s regional police, as well as municipal services.

Permanent mapping of risk areas

The force will introduce permanent mapping and territorial risk classifications, using local knowledge to identify drug-use hotspots, dealing locations, affected properties and risky behaviour at an early stage.

Information gathered daily by officers will be analysed alongside reported incidents, resident complaints and local data. The council said this is intended to identify new dealing points sooner, detect patterns of consumption and direct patrols where they are needed.

  • Permanent Guàrdia Urbana units will be deployed at street-dealing hotspots and problem properties.
  • Suspected narco-flats, properties used for drug dealing, will be subject to detection, investigation and judicial action alongside the Mossos d’Esquadra and courts.
  • District teams, cleaning and maintenance services, municipal inspectors, public health staff and social services will take part in work to recover spaces where action has been taken.

Police and municipal services to share information

Plan Druida’s operational intelligence model is designed to turn officers’ daily information into early-warning and analysis tools. Barcelona City Council said cross-checking police records with reports and complaints will allow the Guàrdia Urbana to adapt deployments as conditions change on the ground.

The plan was published by Barcelona City Council on 4 August 2026 as a strategy against drug use and retail dealing in the city’s public spaces.

Primary sources: ajuntament.barcelona.cat, Barcelona City Council. Reported by Source Text Link, Cesc Maideu, Germán González, Pere Roca Soler, Carla Stavraky, By Agencias, Laia Galià, Diari ARA.