Five consumers in five minutes: chronicle of an afternoon watching drug dens in the Raval

BarcelonaHidden in the hall From a hotel, you only have to wait a few seconds to start seeing the parade. The glass is translucent, but leaves a small transparent opening at eye level that allows a clear and unobstructed view of the doorway. It's important to hide. The dealers are on the lookout to see if anyone is watching for too long and, if in doubt, they always choose to abort the transaction. The receptionist doesn't object to the hotel becoming a lookout point, and some tourists curiously watch what a person is doing pressed against a window.

Suddenly, a boy whistles, raising his head toward a first-floor window. All this happens in the Raval neighborhood, in the heart of Barcelona's Ciutat Vella. The whistle gets an immediate response: without any prior conversation, the boy can open the door to the building and enters. A few seconds pass before another young man stands in front of the same doorway and puts his cell phone to his ear to make a call. The wait drags on for a few minutes, as he paces nervously, carefully scanning his surroundings. Finally, they let him in.

As one enters, the other leaves. He's already bought his dose of drugs, and as he walks away from the building entrance, another guy arrives and makes a phone call. He's also let in shortly after. The pause during the call is always a moment the dealer uses to check out the window and make sure nothing suspicious is afoot. The neighborhood is a constant flow of people, oblivious to the drug trade, which is present on many of the streets that make up the Tetris from Raval.

The scene of young people entering the blog and leaving shortly after is repeated. One of them admits to having bought hashish. It's a very small rock; it's not worth much more than six leeks. He's from Morocco and recently arrived in Catalonia. He says word of mouth told him that drugs were sold here. He mentions that smoking hashish helps him with his "mental problems." Police sources also confirm that drugs are sold in this apartment in the Raval neighborhood and that you can buy hashish, but also cocaine. Three streets away, there's a blog where exactly the same thing is happening. It's nighttime now, but the drug dealing spot is open all day.

Positive data

According to Albert Batlle, Barcelona's Deputy Mayor for Security, there are currently around 14 identified drug-selling points in Ciutat Vella. Since January, 51 have been dismantled and 72 arrests have been made. However, these drug dens are highly mobile: they are primarily empty apartments occupied for a few days to sell drugs, and once they've made their money, they look for another. All sources admit that it's difficult to make an approximate count. At this point, however, the overall figures for the neighborhood are not bad: the Ciutat Vella Security Board met this Friday, and crime in the district has decreased by 13.3% through September of this year. 88% of these crimes are property crimes, which have also fallen by 14.9%. Nine highly active repeat offenders operate in the district. When they are arrested, a series of procedures are carried out with the judiciary and other police forces to establish their status as repeat offenders when they arrive in court. Nevertheless, Batlle has stated that drugs are the "fundamental issue" in the city council's fight against crime, words that echo those of the head of the Municipal Police, Chief Superintendent Pedro Velázquez. in a recent interview with the ARA.

It's not unusual to walk down La Rambla and have someone approach you offering drugs. These are the so-called "pointers." They are organized groups that divide up sections of the Barcelona avenue. They never carry the drugs themselves; they simply find a client and take them to a cannabis club or a point of sale. One of them explains that he arrived seven years ago from Pakistan. He bought a plane ticket to Turkey, and the journey to Catalonia, after a brief stop in Italy, was on foot and by bus. Once here, a friend told him he could make easy money if he sold drugs on La Rambla. He mainly targets tourists. He earns between five and ten euros per client. At the end of the day, in high season, he manages to attract about five. That's about 50 euros a day. He admits that he's very careful if anyone is watching him, and when they're caught, they have instructions from their bosses: give someone else's name and never carry your passport.

The trafficking of pills continues to rise

However, drug trafficking in Ciutat Vella goes far beyond traditional substances. In the lower part of the Rambla del Raval, it's not uncommon to see an exchange of medications. As the ARA has explained several timesThese are pills like Lyrica, prescribed for acute pain, which users buy for one or two euros (per dose) and take to become energized and disinhibited. According to police sources, thieves take them before committing robberies to overcome their fear. Often, people, including drug addicts, who have prescriptions for them go to the pharmacy and then resell them. In these cases, since they are not considered drugs, the police can do little.

The same is true for laughing gas. Anyone who has walked around the Raval neighborhood with even a little attention in recent months will have seen many tubes of this substance, which is inhaled, lying on the ground. Its main problem is that it is not considered a drug. The same goes for glue: drug addicts have been seen again putting glue in a bag to inhale, like someone who is short of breath, right there on the street. One of the substances on the rise, as this newspaper has already explained on several occasionsIt's chabu. Methamphetamines imported from the Philippines that keep you active for days, without needing to sleep.

In recent months, police have also made 11 arrests at seven cannabis clubs that were operating as drug sales points. Given the decrease in crime, Batlle asserted that they are on the "right track" and "flattening the curve of criminal activity." The Ciutat Vella councilor attributed the improvement to the increased police presence of both the Guardia Urbana and the Mossos d'Esquadra in the district, as well as the strengthened coordination between the forces, and expressed confidence that this trend will continue in the coming weeks and months. In the period from October of last year to September of this year, which is the period analyzed by the Security Board, 10,393 people have been arrested in Ciutat Vella.