TL:DR – Armoured Van Exploded by Armed Robbers in Dramatic Heat-Inspired Heist in Italy
- Heavily-armed robbers carried out an attack on an armoured van on Italy’s State Road 613 in Puglia.
- The gang used a burning lorry to halt the convoy and detonated a bomb on the van.
- A high-speed chase ensued with police, resulting in arrests without reported injuries.
- Local authorities call for increased protection and resources for law enforcement amid rising violent crimes.
- This incident highlights the growing danger in the fight against organised crime in Italy.
Armed robbers blow up armoured van in Heat-style raid in Italy | News World
This is the moment balaclava-clad robbers carrying assault rifles blow up an armoured van in a shocking raid on the Italian motorway.
The gang, dressed in matching white overalls, brought the convoy to a stop with a burning lorry to block their escape on State Road 613 in Puglia on Monday.
Heavily armed men, believed to be from the Foggia area, used a blue Alfa Romeo with flashing lights to fool the guards into believing they were there to escort the armoured van to safety.
But then they put a bomb on the back of the white van and set it off in a bid to get into the loot inside.
Bullets flew as the gangsters got caught by police in a shootout filmed by motorists.
One round pierced a police car’s windscreen.
Officers managed to fend off the gang attacking the van belonging to security firm Battistolli, who regularly transports luxury watches.
The gangsters hijacked cars from passing motorists to make their escape.
A gangster brandishing an assault rifle looks directly into the camera of a passing motorist.
Detectives chasing an Alfa Romeo at high speed found the car abandoned in the countryside and a man trying to make his escape.
He was arrested along with another gang member who had also tried to flee on foot.
There were no injuries reported in the raid.
In Heat Robert DeNiro and his gang blow up an armoured van on a busy highway.
The Puglia regional secretary general of Un Arma, Nicola Magno said: ‘Once again, the Carabinieri found themselves on the front lines of an extremely violent and organised criminal act.
‘The fact that a patrol was hit by gunfire demonstrates the high level of risk to which our officers are exposed on a daily basis. It is only thanks to the professionalism, composure, and sense of duty of our colleagues that today we are not talking about a tragedy.’
‘The Carabinieri are working courageously to ensure the safety of citizens, but they cannot be left alone in the face of increasingly complex and dangerous operational scenarios.’
‘We demand greater protection,’ the local policing union added, ‘concrete investments in resources, training, and security measures. It is essential to adapt operational and regulatory tools to the current criminal environment, which is increasingly aggressive and militarised. Citizen safety inevitably depends on the safety of the Carabinieri.
‘We cannot wait for injuries or victims to intervene. We need immediate, structured, and lasting responses to protect those who wear the uniform every day.’