Six killed and 18 injured by gunshots in Catalonia since January: drug trafficking ravages the region
Since January, six people have died and 18 others have been injured by gunshots in Catalonia. The phenomenon is linked to the surge in drug trafficking and massive cannabis cultivation in the region.
Six killed and 18 injured by gunshots in Catalonia since January: drug trafficking ravages the region
Since the beginning of the year, armed violence has claimed six lives in Catalonia and left 18 other people injured in various incidents involving firearms. The escalation has raised alarms among authorities and the population.
The regional security forces had been warning for some time about the expansion of criminal networks linked to drug trafficking and massive cannabis cultivation. The relative laxity of the Spanish legal framework regarding cultivation of this substance has attracted heavily armed mafia organisations that have turned the region into Europe's largest marijuana operation, according to La Vanguardia.
Many of these plantations operate from occupied buildings and industrial estates, taking advantage of regulatory gaps. This scenario has led to the emergence of a sophisticated criminal structure that fights for territorial control using increasingly powerful weapons.
Currently, only one-tenth of drug traffickers end up in prison, and those convicted serve sentences of one to three years. Illegal possession of weapons, for its part, is punished with sentences of six months to two years imprisonment. Adjusting the Penal Code to tighten these sanctions requires agreement between political forces, something complicated in the context leading up to elections.
The shootings, frequently carried out openly and in daylight hours, have sown fear among residents. The main concern is that a stray bullet could strike a passer-by uninvolved in the clashes between rival factions.
Source: La Vanguardia