Mossos d'Esquadra, Catalonia's regional police force, seized 100 illegal knives and other bladed weapons in Bages and Moianès during the first eight months of 2026, Regió7 reported on Wednesday.
The total consists of 93 weapons seized in Bages and seven in Moianès. For residents attending large events, police checks and patrols in the two counties may involve portable metal detectors intended to identify concealed metal objects without a more physical search.
More weapons seized than in 2025
The 100 weapons seized from January to August are nine more than the 91 recorded across the whole of 2025, according to the newspaper's figures. The two periods are not the same length.
- Bages: 93 weapons seized in the first eight months of 2026, compared with 89 in 2025.
- Moianès: seven weapons seized in the first eight months of 2026, compared with two in 2025.
- Total: 100 weapons seized by the end of August 2026, compared with 91 during 2025.
Portable detectors used in patrols and event checks
Regió7 reported that most of the seizures were made during operations under Pla Daga, a Mossos d'Esquadra initiative introduced in September 2024 to prevent people carrying bladed weapons in public spaces. Knives may also be seized during investigations into assaults or violent robberies.
All Mossos patrol cars in the Central Police Region, which covers Bages and Moianès, have portable metal detectors. The devices can detect concealed knives, spikes, knuckledusters and other metal objects during patrols, police checkpoints and access controls at large events, the newspaper reported.
According to the Ajuntament de Manresa, Manresa's municipal council, the city's Guàrdia Urbana municipal police patrols also have the equipment. The detectors can also be used to locate metal objects left in public places, including parks and areas of vegetation.
Primary sources: mossos.gencat.cat, Policia de la Generalitat - Mossos d'Esquadra. Reported by regio7.cat, Regió7.
