Hundreds of people gather outside a local theatre for an event to support the Catalonia independence referendum in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017. Political tensions in Spain are increasing as the proposed independence voting date of Oct. 1 nears. The Catalan government has been scrambling to push forward the vote, despite the central government's warnings that local municipalities are not allowed to use public buildings for it and mayors can be legally prosecuted for it. (AP Photo/Paul White)
September 17, 2017 - 7:13 AM
BARCELONA, Spain - Spain's paramilitary national police force says its agents have confiscated more than 1.3 million posters, flyers and pamphlets promoting the planned independence referendum by Catalonia's regional government.
The Civil Guard said the campaign literature was seized on Sunday during raids of an unnamed business in Barcelona province that distributes advertising material.
The police force says the trove takes the number of items endorsing the independence referendum that have been confiscated to 1.5 million.
The Spanish government has vowed to stop the planned Oct. 1 secession vote, saying it's illegal. But Catalonia's leaders have pushed ahead even though Spain's constitutional Court suspended a regional law that paved the way for the referendum and has agreed to review the vote's constitutionality.
Polls show Catalonia's 7.5 million residents roughly split on independence.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017