Spanish Police Announce Arrest Of 25 Football Fans For Murder, Drug Trafficking

Spanish Police Announce Arrest of 25 Football Fans for Murder, Drug Trafficking

Spanish police in the autonomous community of Catalonia said on Friday that they have arrested 25 fans of Spanish football club Barcelona who are suspected of multiple criminal offenses, including murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking and extortion

MADRID (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th June, 2023) Spanish police in the autonomous community of Catalonia said on Friday that they have arrested 25 fans of Spanish football club Barcelona who are suspected of multiple criminal offenses, including murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking and extortion.

"The Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalonia's police force) have arrested 25 members of Casuals (a violent group of football fans)... 25 arrests have been performed and 17 searches conducted in several municipalities, mainly in the metropolitan area of Barcelona," the police said in a statement.

In this move, the Spanish police wrapped up a year-long investigation against the Casuals group, whose members are known as the most hardcore Barcelona fans, according to the statement. The investigation was launched in 2021 following a violent attack by the Casuals on Los Cazadores bar in the municipality of Cornella de Llobregat in Catalonia, which is frequented by fans of a rival club, Espanol.

During the searches, the police seized five pistols, several knives, batches of marijuana and 180,000 Euros ($190,000) in cash, according to the statement. The arrested fans are suspected of murder, kidnapping, extortion and marijuana trafficking and cultivation as well as of participation in riots and criminal organizations.

In 2018, the Spanish police arrested 14 members of Casuals for cocaine trafficking.