A dozen attendees of the electronic music festival Delirium reported or communicated the theft of their mobile phones during Saturday's event in the Pineda Fosca area, in Cassà de la Selva. The Mossos d'Esquadra are aware of the theft of 10 devices and have received four formal complaints.
The case once again puts the spotlight on an event that brought together about 3,500 people and had already registered mobile phone disappearances in previous editions. Some affected individuals have located their phones in Barcelona using geolocation systems, while the Girona police station is analyzing whether the thefts are the work of an organized group.
Affected individuals located several phones in Barcelona hours later
On the day of the incidents, the organization alerted the Mossos d'Esquadra and the Local Police of Cassà de la Selva after receiving a dozen notices of mobile phone disappearances. The difference between these notices and the four formal complaints received so far leaves the investigation open to new case additions.
In addition to the complaints already registered, the Mossos are working with the reference of 10 known thefts. Some of the affected attendees have tracked their devices and located them in Barcelona, a piece of information that investigators are incorporating into the analysis of the possible coordinated action of the perpetrators.
The organization maintains that organized groups are behind these thefts and defines itself as one of the main victims of what happened. In parallel, the festival maintains a support protocol for victims with a safe space, phone lending, and assistance in filing a report.
The festival already suffered at least fifteen mobile phone disappearances in May
What happened this Saturday is not an isolated incident within the same event. In the May edition, at least 15 phones disappeared, and last October, during another session in Pineda Fosca, the Mossos d'Esquadra arrested a young man who was stealing mobile phones and for whom there was a European arrest warrant for a homicide in Aubervilliers, France.
This precedent reinforces police attention on an event that has adopted preventive measures at its entrances. The organization explains that it informs attendees at the entrance and that this year it was distributing lanyards to hang phones around the neck, while assuring that it is working with the police and maintaining a downward trend in theft figures.
From the festival they also underline that there has never been any fight during the celebration and they separate thefts from any violent incident in the venue. Saturday's celebration proceeded with that prevention and victim assistance device already activated.
The most serious precedent in recent editions occurred in October, when the Mossos d'Esquadra arrested a young man in Pineda Fosca who was stealing phones and had a European arrest warrant for a homicide committed in Aubervilliers.