The Mossos d'Esquadra have reinforced pressure on groups operating on the AP 7 and other expressways with the deployment of the Plan Kanpai Pista, a device active throughout Catalonia since January 1, 2026, to pursue thefts, puncture wheels, and curtain makers. This Friday, between 11:00 and 18:00, the force carried out a special operation that mobilized 245 agents across the territory.
In the Girona Police Region, the day's balance left 9 people identified with 85 criminal records, in addition to 4 vehicles controlled and 1 vehicle seized, with the participation of 38 agents. In Catalonia as a whole, the Mossos identified 181 people, who accumulated 162 criminal records, and acted on 151 vehicles, with 1 seized.
Decrease of incidents on the Girona stretch of the AP 7
Between January 1 and March 1 of this year, the Mossos recorded 205 incidents on the Girona stretch of the AP 7 linked to this type of crime, compared to 565 in the same period of the previous year. The points with the highest concentration of cases continue to be the service areas of La Selva, with 54 incidents, of Empordà, with 42, and of Gironès, with 31.
Inspector Francesc Garcia, head of the regional operational shift of the Girona Police Region, placed the focus on the first 100 kilometers of the highway from the border, the sector that historically has concentrated more activity. In an informative briefing held in the Garrigàs service area, he summarized the objective of the plan.
"To give security to the entire stretch of the highway" - Francesc Garcia, inspector of Mossos d'Esquadra
The police command also warned that this crime maintains a sustained activity throughout the year.
"Before it was seasonal, but now we have them throughout the year" - Francesc Garcia, inspector of Mossos d'Esquadra
More coordination and surveillance in service areas
During Friday morning, in the Garrigàs service area, agents of the Citizen Security Unit stopped vehicles, identified occupants when there were suspicions, and carried out license plate checks and other verifications. Participating in the operation are uniformed units, plainclothes agents, Traffic, Mobile Brigade, central investigation services, aerial means, and the coordination room.
Garcia highlighted that one of the novelties of the plan is the reinforced coordination between specialties.
"We work more coordinated than ever" - Francesc Garcia, inspector of Mossos d'Esquadra
That coordination, he added, is allowing to obtain very good results in the detection of perpetrators, in the immobilization of vehicles and in the monitoring of itinerant groups. The Mossos calculate that in 2025 there were 4,000 annual incidents on fast roads and place 85% of crimes of this type on the AP 7.
A detainee in the Montseny service area
During the early hours of this Friday, also within the Pla Kanpai Pista, the Mossos arrested a man for an alleged violent robbery of a truck driver in the Montseny service area of the AP 7. In that operation, the agents located abandoned vehicles with stolen merchandise and arrested the suspect when he was trying to flee.
In the intervention, 299 shoe boxes valued at 15,000 euros were recovered, in addition to a van and two high-end vehicles. The investigation remains open and new arrests are not ruled out.
Restraining orders and more pressure on groups
Since January, the Mossos have promoted restraining orders, the immobilization of vehicles, and lines of investigation for receiving stolen goods to reduce the profitability of these activities. Currently, there are 11 active orders for perpetrators of thefts and 17 for teloners, in addition to 29 vehicles seized.
The plan's balance shows a 37% drop in known incidents, going from 622 to 394, and a 46.8% reduction in incidents, from 1,268 to 674. At the same time, vehicle identifications have risen by 171% and those of people by 148%. Police occupation time has grown by 117% and arrests have increased by 64%, from 25 to 41. Also, 11 vehicles have been recovered.
The Mossos maintain that the operational pressure on motorways and service areas is allowing to cut back the activity of these groups, although they insist that it is a persistent crime, with very marked time slots, by day in the case of the tire punchers and at dawn in the case of the backdroppers. Garcia summarized it with an expression that in the force they often repeat. It is a constant trickle.