CATALAN police have arrested six violent chain snatchers during a targeted crackdown in Barcelona.

But 54 other repeat offenders with almost 900 combined police records were left free to roam the streets during the operation.

Police focused on thieves who use violence and intimidation to rip gold chains, bracelets and other jewellery from victims’ necks and wrists.

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Officers carried out the sweeps across several districts of the Catalan capital.

They arrested six people who shared a combined total of 208 prior police offences between them.

During the searches, police recovered stolen gold chains, rings, and cash hidden in the suspects’ pockets and motorcycle helmets.

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But the operation also highlighted the staggering scale of the city’s repeat-offender problem.

Officers stopped and checked the IDs of a further 52 people who had a combined 888 prior police records.

Two more people, sharing six previous records, had formal police complaints filed against them.

READ MORE: Wheelchair-bound pensioner ‘stabs and kills thief who tried to steal his gold chain’ in Barcelona horror robbery gone wrong

Under Spanish law, an identification check is simply a preventative measure to verify someone’s identity and criminal history, and does not give police the power to detain them without catching them in the act or having a warrant.

Similarly, a formal complaint creates an administrative record but does not automatically lead to an arrest.

It meant that despite the heavy police presence, 54 known suspects carrying 894 prior records were allowed to walk away.

The sting follows a wave of violent and high-value jewellery thefts in the city.

READ MORE: Gold chain snatcher gets bitten by victim and is caught by chasing pedestrians in Spain’s Mallorca

In May, two thieves snatched a gold chain worth €9,000 from a tourist on the high-end Passeig de Gracia shopping avenue as she tried to enter her apartment building.

In April, an 18-year-old was stabbed to death after trying to rip a chain necklace from a 66-year-old man in a wheelchair.

And in September last year, a joint operation between the Mossos and the city’s Guardia Urbana recovered €600,000 worth of stolen gold and watches from second-hand precious metal shops in the central Eixample district.

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