Five men dressed as police officers take away a man by force on the AP-7

BarcelonaFive men with their faces covered, dressed in black and wearing reflective vests with the word "police" in capital letters on their backs, forcibly pull a man with a bloodied face and half-dressed from the back of a car. The events took place on the AP-7, between Montornès del Vallès and Vilanova del Vallès. It is daytime and some drivers are recording the scene, worried about what is happening right in front of them. They doubt whether the five individuals are police officers, due to the clothing they are wearing, but the aggressiveness with which they behave and the fact that they are covered up makes them suspicious. Finally, all five of them manage to get the man into another vehicle, just as it was recorded in a video that has circulated on social media.

The Mossos d'Esquadra have opened an investigation to clarify these events, which took place this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. They suspect it is a case of alleged illegal detention and the main hypothesis is that it was an act of intimidation by a group of criminals. Police sources confirm to ARA that the victim was released hours later in a location in the Vallès Occidental and that they "are safe and sound".

It will be the investigators from the criminal division of the Catalan police who will take charge of the case. As the Minister of Interior, Núria Parlon, explained this Monday, the first indications point to a drug-related matter. "But it is highly circumstantial," she added.

While waiting for the investigation to progress and the nature of the events to be confirmed, however, there are precedents of criminal groups linked to drug trafficking in Catalonia that have resorted to violence and holding people for hours as a method of intimidation. For example, to pressure them or demand the payment of debts.

It will also be investigated whether there is a possible crime of impersonation, given that the attackers were wearing clothing that could make them pass for police officers. At the moment, there are no arrests or identifications.