Mossos d'Esquadra, Catalonia’s regional police, say their Kanpai Pista operation reduced crime on Catalan motorways and other fast roads by 50% during the first half of 2026. The result matters particularly for drivers, lorry operators and visitors using the AP-7, where police say most such offences occur.

Kanpai Pista targets thefts from drivers and organised groups that steal lorry loads, particularly at service areas, petrol stations and hard shoulders. The plan was deployed on the AP-7 and connected routes including the C-32, C-33, AP-2 and C-25.

AP-7 accounts for most reported fast-road offences

According to figures cited by Mossos d'Esquadra, the AP-7 accounts for about 85% of offences recorded on Catalonia’s fast-road network. Police recorded nearly 4,000 such offences across the network in 2025, the force said in March.

The stable operation began in early 2026 across 344 kilometres of motorway and its branches, covering more than 60 access points. It brings together traffic officers, public-safety units, ARRO and BRIMO public-order units, plain-clothes officers and police intelligence analysts.

Police combine checkpoints, cameras and intelligence

Mossos say the operation uses visible checkpoints and surveillance to make it harder for suspects to move along the road network. Officers also compare information on vehicles, movement patterns and criminal records.

During a Kanpai Pista operation reported on 28 March, 245 officers arrested three people, identified 181 others and seized one vehicle. The operation was coordinated with cameras and a helicopter, according to the figures released at the time.

“The AP-7 is a critical corridor,” Mossos superintendent Miquel Hueso said, referring to its concentration of reported road-network crime.

Police said daytime thefts can include puncturing tyres to distract drivers, while groups operating at night target freight carried by lorries. Mossos have identified 40 people suspected of specialising in theft from motorists and 35 suspected of stealing lorry loads, according to the March update.

The force said it had obtained 11 exclusion orders against suspected thieves targeting motorists and 17 against suspected lorry-load thieves. It reported a 37% reduction in this activity from January to late March, before the subsequently reported 50% fall for the first half of the year.

Reported by Source Text Link, Germán González, Sergio Amadoz, redaccio, Pere Roca Soler, Ángela Vázquez, Marta Sasot Publicado: 29 de marzo de 2026, 20:34, Diari Catalunya.