Police arrested 33 people and identified 1,138 during a coordinated Kanpai operation in Tarragona, Reus, Valls and El Vendrell on 21 February. For residents and public-transport users in the four towns, the deployment placed officers at transport links and other busy locations as part of a campaign against repeat offending.

According to RTVE Catalunya's report on the operation, more than 320 officers were deployed. Mossos d'Esquadra, Catalonia's regional police, worked alongside the Policía Nacional, local and municipal police forces, private-security staff and other participating services.

The operation ran in morning and afternoon phases. Officers worked at points of movement, including the public-transport network, and in areas with high numbers of people.

Checks result in drug, weapons and traffic reports

Police said the 1,138 people identified had a combined 3,382 previous police records. The operation also resulted in 14 judicial summonses and 20 summonses issued by the Policía Nacional.

  • 80 reports for possession of narcotic substances
  • 20 reports for bladed weapons
  • Eight reports for disobedience or disrespect towards officers
  • 69 traffic reports after 348 vehicles were checked
  • Ten premises inspected for administrative irregularities

Transport network used to identify travelling suspects

Xavi Moreno, head of Citizen Security at the Mossos d'Esquadra station in Reus, said the simultaneous deployment across the four towns was central to the operation.

“One of the keys to this operation is that we work in a coordinated and simultaneous way. We work across the metropolitan transport network, which allows us to detect people arriving from other parts of the territory who would continue their journey and leave the region without being able to commit offences.”

Kanpai is the Mossos d'Esquadra plan directed at repeat offending in Catalonia. In this operation, police focused on the transport network and busy public spaces in Tarragona, Reus, Valls and El Vendrell.

Primary sources: govern.cat. Reported by el3devuit.cat, Marc Guasch Ferreiro, Sergi Frisach, ACN, Ismael Lobo García, naciodigital.cat, larazon.es, diaridetarragona.com, Orsolya Gazdagi, Laura Prieto, 20minutos, Josep Fusté Llorca Fusté Llorca, El 3 de Vuit.