Arrests made after armed suspects flee to underground car park
Early on Wednesday 21st October 2026, a resident reported hooded individuals loitering on Tetuan street in Sabadell, prompting a response from multiple police patrols and mobile brigade agents conducting night reinforcement duties. Officers encountered a man acting suspiciously beside a van, who immediately started the vehicle and fled upon seeing police. He drove to an underground car park, where the van was found abandoned. Inside the vehicle, police discovered a Glock pistol, an AK-47 rifle, a stun gun, several balaclavas, and zip ties. The driver and three passengers had hidden beneath parked cars but were located and arrested. The Mossos d'Esquadra, Catalonia’s regional police, suspect the group was preparing to carry out an express kidnapping targeting a member of a rival criminal organisation.
Eleventh attempted case in 2026 highlights surge in organised crime
This incident would have marked the 11th express kidnapping or attempted case recorded in Catalonia so far this year. According to Mossos sources cited by La Vanguardia, approximately one such incident has occurred each week over the past six weeks. These kidnappings are primarily linked to drug trafficking, with 90% of cases involving internal disputes over lost drugs or unpaid debts, and 7% tied to financial debts. Two recent cases illustrate the pattern. On Sunday 18th October, a man in Santa Coloma de Gramenet was forced into a vehicle by four hooded individuals after failing to repay a 1,000 euro loan that had ballooned to 4,000 euros with interest. That same day, another man was abducted in La Cerdanya and later found bound with zip ties in a car in Fontanals de Cerdanya, showing signs of assault.
These are isolated conflicts between criminal groups to mark territory, not actions directed against citizens or families.
Sílvia Catà, chief commissioner of the Mossos d'Esquadra, made the statement in a recent TV3 interview, emphasising that while these incidents cause public concern, they are not random attacks on the general population.
AP-7 fake police stop triggers alarm
The rise in such cases first drew significant attention on 20th September 2026, when a driver recorded five men dressed as police officers stopping a vehicle on the AP-7 motorway near Montornès and forcibly taking one occupant. The victim was later found in Salt with signs of violence but declined to cooperate with investigators. Despite Interior Minister Núria Parlon describing the case as related to 'public drug health', no further updates have been released. The Penal Code classifies these acts as illegal detention when no ransom is demanded. The Mossos continue to investigate the six confirmed express kidnappings over the past six weeks, all of which are believed to stem from internal criminal disputes.
Sources: La Vanguardia.
