Two caught red-handed for stealing 134 kilos of copper from the Sagrera tracks

Mossos arrest two men, one of whom is a minor, while they were selling the stolen material at a scrap yard in Sant Andreu. The seized copper was valued at €1,246.

Plainclothes agents from the Mossos d'Esquadra arrested two men, aged 41 and 17, on October 5, accused of theft with force. They were caught delivering the copper they had just stolen from the railway tracks near the new Sagrera station in Barcelona.

The investigation was initiated following a tip-off from a witness. This person informed the agents that they had seen two hooded individuals jump a fence to access the tracks and then hide the stolen material in bags in the area.

The police headed to a nearby scrap yard. There, they confirmed that the two suspects had just delivered the copper and were waiting to collect the €1,246 it was valued at. In total, 134 kilos of copper cable.

At that moment, the agents arrested the two men and recovered the stolen material. The younger suspect, the 17-year-old, also had an outstanding arrest warrant for another theft with force.

The other detainee, aged 41, has a history of copper thefts and was brought before the court on October 8.

The Mossos frame these arrests within the Plan Via, a strategy that enhances surveillance at points in the railway network most at risk of theft of this material, especially in sections that could affect train mobility, as well as at copper buying and selling centres.

"The arrest took place while they were selling the stolen material at a scrap yard in Sant Andreu," according to a statement from the Catalan police.

The theft of copper from railway infrastructure is a recurring problem in the Catalan network. Workers must repair the affected sections, which can cause delays and cancellations on lines passing through the metropolitan area of Barcelona. The Mossos maintain surveillance at critical points like the Sagrera area, where construction of the future station coexists with the operational railway line.

The arrest of the minor was reported to the Juvenile Prosecutor's Office, which will handle his case. The 41-year-old man was placed at the disposal of the duty court.