Monday morning's commute on State Road 613 between Brindisi and Lecce turned into a scene that Michael Bay would approve of. Around 10 masked robbers wearing black and white jumpsuits executed a meticulously planned armored truck robbery that involved fake police cars, assault rifles, explosives, and a shootout with Italian military police.
According to Wanted In Rome, the gang targeted a BTV security company cash-in-transit van near the town of Tuturano in southern Italy's Puglia region. The operation began around 1:50 AM when the robbers used multiple stolen vehicles to block both directions of the highway, then set those vehicles on fire to create what witnesses described as a "wall of flames" that isolated the target and prevented civilian traffic or police patrols from approaching.
Reports from Jalopnik and YNet News indicate the gang used an Alfa Romeo fitted with a fake police beacon to stop the armored van, mimicking law enforcement tactics to force compliance. Once the vehicle was stopped, the robbers exited wearing masks and opened fire with Kalashnikov rifles and shotguns, both to intimidate the guards inside and keep bystanders at a distance.
Video footage shared widely on social media by Sky TG24 captured the moment the robbers detonated military-grade explosives on the van's rear doors. The blast sent debris flying across the highway and produced a massive cloud of black smoke visible from both directions of traffic.
Dashcam footage from motorists trapped behind the burning barricade shows the explosion lifting the armored vehicle and debris raining down on the roadway. Witnesses reported the force of the blast and the intensity of the gunfire, though miraculously no fatalities or injuries were reported among security personnel, police, or civilian bystanders.
According to Wanted In Rome, photos from the scene show the side of the van blasted open, though the reinforced inner compartment appears mostly intact. This has led to conflicting reports about whether the robbery actually succeeded.
When Carabinieri, Italy's military police force, arrived at the scene, a firefight broke out. YNet News reports that the robbers opened fire on responding officers, with at least one police vehicle taking a bullet during the exchange. The gunfire forced the gang to abandon the scene before they could fully complete the heist.
During their escape, the robbers hijacked vehicles from motorists who happened to be trapped in the area. They fled in high-powered cars toward the territory of Squinzano in the province of Lecce. To prevent pursuit, they scattered metal spikes across the asphalt designed to shred the tires of any following vehicles.
The Manhunt
Italian security forces launched a major operation involving helicopter surveillance and ground units searching rural backroads of the Salento area. According to YNet News, two suspects were arrested in the Lecce area. They were found wearing masks but were unarmed at the time of capture.
Based on eyewitness video footage and police reports, the cell is believed to have included between six and ten individuals. With only two in custody, that leaves between four and eight suspects still at large.
This robbery is the latest in a string of similar high-profile armored vehicle heists across Italy in recent months. ANSA reported that thieves got away with approximately €2 million during a heist inside a tunnel in Calabria on December 1, 2025. On January 5, 2026, another gang stole roughly €400,000 during a highway robbery on the A14 near Ortona in Abruzzo.
The January incident used similar tactics: a truck laid sideways across the motorway lane, smoke bombs, burned vehicles, and nails scattered on the ground. The criminals fired shots at the armored vehicle to force it to stop, then used explosives to open both the vehicle and the safe while the operators were still inside.
The pattern suggests either organized crime coordination across regions or copycat operations using proven methods. The use of military-grade explosives, assault rifles, and sophisticated blocking tactics indicates professional planning and access to serious hardware.
What Remains Unclear
Initial reports from Wanted In Rome suggested the gang escaped with "a significant haul," though the exact amount is still being verified by the security company. However, other sources including YNet News report that the attempted robbery failed, with the armored inner compartment remaining largely intact despite the explosion.
What is confirmed: ten masked men blocked an Italian highway, set multiple vehicles on fire, detonated explosives on an armored truck, engaged in a firefight with police, hijacked civilian vehicles during their escape, and scattered spike strips to prevent pursuit. Two are in custody wearing masks. The rest disappeared into rural southern Italy.
The footage circulating on social media has drawn comparisons to "The Italian Job," though as one observer noted, even Michael Caine's famous line about blowing the bloody doors off doesn't quite capture the scale of Monday's explosion. The criminals appear to have studied that film's tactics, then decided subtlety was overrated.