The National Police intercept a Mossos d’Esquadra van at the Sant Adrià de Besòs incinerator

The National Police detain the Mossos d’Esquadra officers while awaiting a warrant from National High Court judge Carmen Lamela, of the Central Examining Magistrates’ Courts. Lamela gives the order and the Spanish police seize the documents, which belonged to the Mossos d’Esquadra’s General Information Office and were going to be burnt in the Sant Adrià de Besós incinerator. The National Police reports that some of the documents have to do with spying on unionist politicians and journalists, while others are documents prepared by Mossos themselves in relation to the organisation and holding of the 1 October referendum. The secretary-general of the Catalan Police Union (SPC), David José Mañas, and the former president of Societat Civil Catalana, Josep Ramon Bosch, among others, present complaints and lawsuits against the Mossos d’Esquadra. In 2019, the Examining Magistrate’s Court no. 22 of Barcelona orders the dismissal of the case, and the Provincial Court upholds the decision. The court argues it cannot be concluded that the investigations were not motivated by the goal of safeguarding the public interest, and that moreover such actions are provided for under the law and do not constitute a misuse of power. The information seized also includes documents on the ‘Locki Case’, an investigation into paramilitary activities carried out between Mossos and alleged pro-independence activists accused of being right-wing extremists. The National Police are reported to have used this information to spy on independence activists such as Jordi Riba, president of the Vibrant organisation.