Has anyone been wrongfully arrested by plain clothes police in Barcelona?
Yet another Spanish scam. These guys are con artists. They approach a young tourist and maintain that you committed a minor offence like spitting or jaywalking or throwing a cigarette butt on the street. They ask for your passport and enquire how much cash you have on you. They then threaten you with jail unless you pay an on the spot fine of 200 Euro. If you haven’t got the money they will escort you to an ATM to get it. Sometimes they will even take your passport, depending on which country it’s issued in, and they sell it on. The Barcelona police know who these guys are but appear to be doing nothing about it. They are very intimidating but, always insist on going to a police station if they approach you.
