Investigators say fake posters carrying QR codes promoted access to the private WhatsApp channels widely on TikTok. The channels were allegedly used to coordinate looting and public disorder, including violence against police during the Blocus unrest in Barcelona on 24 October, when the Guardia Civil estimated that around 500 people took part.
Mossos d'Esquadra and the Policía Nacional arrested the girls in the Maresme and Bages areas of Barcelona province. The 14- and 17-year-olds are under investigation by the juvenile section of the public prosecutor’s office for suspected aggravated public disorder involving looting during the unrest. Police have also described other Blocus channels as being used to circulate access links and operational guidance. A 17-year-old arrested earlier in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia was accused of sharing an invitation link and discussing equipment, as well as ways to evade police detection and protect himself.
Catalan president Salvador Illa said on X that the arrests showed there would be no impunity and that people who promoted or took part in such acts would have to answer to justice. The latest action follows other detentions linked to the network, including earlier Blocus arrests. EFE reported that arrests in the wider investigation had taken place in several locations, including Valencia province, Tenerife, Lleida, Bilbao and Málaga.
A separate case concerns a 21-year-old arrested in Cabrera d'Anoia and accused of promoting Blocus disturbances on 24 August. A Barcelona judge ordered him held in custody without bail. He faces suspected public disorder and criminal organisation offences.
Following the latest police actions, six people have been detained in Catalonia, including two minors. More than a dozen people have been arrested across Spain, while the investigation into those who planned and circulated the calls remains open. Reuters reported that violence linked to the 24 October protests had led to 132 arrests, including 83 minors and 49 adults. An EFE report gave a separate Catalan police tally of 128 arrests, including 72 minors; it said 122 detainees were male and six were female.
The Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Cataluña (TSJC) said on 2 November that 79 minors had appeared before a judge over the unrest. Five were ordered into juvenile detention, while 72 were released under supervision; 32 of them are barred from attending demonstrations. No precautionary measures were imposed in the two remaining cases. The hearings took place in stages over the preceding week. Before the court decisions, prosecutors had requested demonstration bans for 70 detainees and internment for eight minors.
A police operation involving 1,440 identity checks also prevented a new Blocus call from leading to incidents in Barcelona. In a separate report on the response to the renewed call, Ara said police carried out 2,264 identity checks as messaging channels were shut down and city-centre shops put protective measures in place.
