Police officers break up illegal rave in western Catalonia

Mossos d'Esquadra police officers broke up the illegal rave on Wednesday afternoon that began near the western Catalonia town of Ivars de Noguera on Saturday, attracting around 400 people from all over Europe. 

Riot police from Barcelona and Lleida made their way to the site near the Santa Anna reservoir on the Catalonia-Aragon border in the hopes of detaining the organizers.

By Thursday, three arrests of organizers were made, along with more than 50 reports filed. 

One Italian citizen was arrested who police said showed obvious signs of being under the influence of drugs and alcohol. In addition, two others were arrested who attacked a police vehicle on Saturday. Five officers were injured as they attempted to prevent vehicles from accessing the party. 

Seven others were identified by police as organizers of the illegal party, two French citizens, four Italians, and one Belgian. 

Mossos, with around 100 officers, surrounded the area and identified all the people who still partied, less than 100, as Mossos reported.

Officers have also been drug and alcohol testing the occupants of vehicles leaving the site of the party, overall, there were around 20 drivers denounced. Police arrested the partygoer that was able to escape after being confronted by Mossos.

According to the mayor of Ivars de Noguera, Josep Magí, around 3,000 people were invited from various parts of Catalonia and Spain, as well as from around Europe, mainly from Italy and France, but also from Poland and Bulgaria. 

The site is difficult to reach but some of those attending used alternative routes and crossed through agricultural estates to bypass the police.  

Llinars rave  

The policing of illegal raves was in the spotlight in January 2021 when the Mossos d'Esquadra took 36 hours to break up a New Year's party in an abandoned warehouse in Llinars.  

The then police chief claimed one of the reasons for the delay was a lack of officers – in the end, around 200 Mossos d'Esquadra were involved in the operation to bring a halt to the party which was attended by around 300 people.  

At the time, Covid restrictions meant that gatherings were limited to a maximum of 10 people. 

More recently, police had to deal with two illegal raves in rural Catalonia over Carnival weekend.