Mossos Report: Blocus Used WhatsApp Groups to Plan Barcelona Looting
A Mossos report says Blocus planned the Oct. 24 looting in central Barcelona via TikTok QR codes and themed WhatsApp chats aimed at luxury stores.
The looting of shops in central Barcelona during the riots of Oct. 24 was planned in advance through TikTok posts and a network of themed WhatsApp groups, according to a police report described by Metrópoli Abierta. The report says the platform known as Blocus worked as a coordination space for robbing luxury and electronics stores under cover of the street disorder, rather than as a spontaneous protest.
The document was drawn up by the Comisaría General de Información (the intelligence division) of the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalonia’s police) and sent to the court investigating the people behind Blocus. Officers got inside the internal channels where the raids on shops were planned.
From TikTok posters to WhatsApp communities
Police trace the start of the operation to Oct. 21. On that day investigators detected two TikTok profiles, one using the name @manifestaciones.bcn, that shared posters calling people to “Blocus día 24 de octubre” together with QR codes.
Scanning those codes took users to public WhatsApp communities. One, called “Manifestaciones BCN”, had 661 members; another was named “Manifestación sin permiso” (protest without permission). Agents extracted the full content of these groups, the outlet reports.
Separate chats for clothing, logistics and targets
From those main channels, the organisers split participants into themed subgroups. Groups called “General”, “Vestimenta” (clothing) and “Indispensables” (essentials) were used to prepare people before the day. In them, members set meeting points, passed on information about police movements and agreed what to wear so cameras and officers would find it harder to identify them. They also shared tips on how to avoid police checks before and after the raids.
Choosing the shops was handled in a separate chat, “Joyerías bcn 24 de octubre” (Barcelona jewelers, Oct. 24), which began with 64 members. According to the report, its only purpose was to point out shop windows that could be emptied quickly for high value. Members built a map of priority targets in the city centre.
The stores named most often were jewelers, luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci, the Apple Store, and electronics and sportswear chains including MediaMarkt, Nike, JD Sports and Foot Locker. The intercepted messages show that those involved checked the physical security of these shops ahead of time, estimated the value of the goods on display and agreed the best time slots to strike while crowds gave them cover. They also planned escape routes and hidden places to store what they stole.
What it means for shops and residents in the centre
The report describes organised theft that used protests as cover, with targets picked days in advance among the luxury and chain stores of central Barcelona. For shop owners and people who live or work in the centre, it explains why riot days there turned into a wave of break-ins at specific brands.
A second call failed on Oct. 31
The structure fell apart quickly after the police and court action that followed Oct. 24, the report says. Some users tried to revive the call for Oct. 31 through Telegram channels. Those groups were shut down and the Mossos put a preventive security cordon around central Barcelona, and that day passed without incidents.
Since then, the Catalan police say, Blocus activity on social media has almost stopped. According to Metrópoli Abierta, that is also why the platform played no part in the riots during the general strike of Nov. 11, which the outlet describes as carried out by older and more compartmentalised groups.
Source: Metrópoli Abierta
