The Mossos d'Esquadra have arrested eight people in Manresa for thefts committed on public transport in Barcelona and Terrassa as part of Plan Kanpai. The detainees had accumulated twelve and four criminal offenses, respectively, in an investigation focused on robberies on buses and other vehicles with a large number of passengers.
The operation comes after four months of investigations opened since the end of November and coincides with a 40.7% drop in these crimes during the first quarter of 2026. The decrease contrasts with the high recidivism detected by the police, who in the same period have arrested 85 criminals with 628 police records.
The plan identified the most active perpetrators in Terrassa and Sabadell
Investigators located the most active perpetrators in Terrassa and Sabadell, in Vallès Occidental, and also dismantled four other groups that operated in different parts of Catalonia. All of them specialized in thefts on public buses.
In Manresa, the arrests have been linked to offenses committed on public transport in Barcelona and Terrassa. The action is part of Plan Kanpai, with which the Mossos have intensified the monitoring of itinerant groups that move between municipalities to operate on routes with a high concentration of travelers.
In addition to the arrests, the investigation has made it possible to connect several incidents committed on different routes and cities. In some cases, the thieves could commit more than one theft in a single trip.
The groups used the "crossa" method to steal from crowded vehicles
The pattern detected by the Mossos was repeated in the most crowded vehicles. The criminals chose vulnerable victims and used the "crossa" method to create denser spaces around them and facilitate the theft without attracting attention.
The stolen items were mainly mobile phones, wallets, and bank cards. Later, these cards were used for scams, fraudulent purchases, and illicit access to personal and financial data.
This subsequent use expands the impact of the theft beyond the immediate loss of objects, as the theft led to fraudulent operations with the victims' information. The Mossos have also followed this aspect in the investigations opened during these months.
Investigations reduced crimes from 605 to 359 in one year
The device's report records a reduction in criminal incidents from 605 to 359 in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. The decrease stands at 40.7% following actions carried out since the end of November.
In that same interval, the Mossos arrested 85 offenders who had accumulated 628 police records. The figure shows the weight of repeat offending in this type of theft, especially on lines and routes where passenger saturation makes it difficult to detect the theft at the time.
During the four months of deployment, the police have dismantled a total of four additional groups operating in other parts of Catalonia and have identified the most active perpetrators of this type of crime in Terrassa and Sabadell.