An 18-year-old arrested in Barcelona over his alleged links to Blocus appeared before an investigating judge, who remanded him in provisional custody without bail on 31 October. The judge found indications of conspiracy to commit public disorder and membership of a criminal group, the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Cataluña said. The suspect has not been convicted. Reuters reported that the unrest linked to Blocus followed a demonstration in Barcelona on 24 October, which drew roughly 500 people information from the Guardia Civil; looting and violence followed in the city centre.
This is one of several separate legal outcomes reported in connection with the group. A 16-year-old arrested in core València was released by the Fiscalía de Menores. Police had linked him to the initial circulation of Blocus posters and alleged that he administered a messaging group. In a separate investigation into the 24 October disorder, Catalan police reported 132 arrests, including 83 minors and 49 adults. Reuters reported that police suspect Blocus used social-media profiles and messaging channels to exploit student protests as cover for looting and violence.
Another suspect, aged 21, was arrested in Cabrera d'Anoia on 31 October. The Mossos d'Esquadra described him as an “instigator and dynamizer” of a Blocus-linked group and said he administered a communications group used to promote and coordinate violent actions. Police said a TikTok poster directed users through a QR code to a WhatsApp channel. The arrest was described as the fourth in Catalonia linked to Blocus; the investigation remained open, with further arrests not ruled out.
The police figures cover different areas and time periods. Núria Parlon, Catalonia’s interior and public security consellera, put the total identified in connection with the calls at 2,264: 1,800 by the Mossos and 464 by the Guardia Urbana. She also reported 181 complaints involving the seizure of potentially dangerous items, including stones and sprays. Reporting on the operation said police confiscated 127 objects considered potentially usable during disturbances and made three arrests, including arrests unrelated to Blocus. Identifications are police-control measures and are not arrests or findings of criminal responsibility.
In Barcelona, the Mossos and Guardia Urbana had reported about 1,000 identifications between 16:00 and 19:30 during the operation. A later tally put the Barcelona total at 1,440; El País reported that the city operation passed without substantial incidents and that 12 minors carrying items such as balaclavas were taken to police stations for protective reasons, pending collection by their parents. A separate report recorded four Mossos arrests in Barcelona by 9 p.m., none linked to Blocus. The 2,264 figure covered a wider Catalan operation, while the 1,440 tally referred to Barcelona.
The deployment followed unrest and looting in Barcelona on 24 October. Reporting on the investigation said about 30 shops were ransacked and 33 fires were started. Police have examined anonymous TikTok accounts and messaging channels used to circulate calls under the name “Blocus,” a French word meaning “blockade.” An earlier case report covered the Guardia Civil’s arrest in Picanya of a man described by investigators as Blocus’s alleged founder. Reuters reported that the Interior Ministry said six other people linked to the group had also been arrested in Spain by 30 October. The reported cases remain at different stages: some involve arrests or ongoing investigations, while one has reached a judge’s provisional custody order.
