Cash grab Masked gang blows up armored van full of money in brazen ‘Italian Job’-style heist

A gang of masked, armed thieves staged a dramatic daylight robbery Monday, blowing up an armored van loaded with cash on a highway in Italy’s Puglia region—a scene straight out of a classic heist movie.

According to the Puglia Daily, about six criminals dressed in black-and-white outfits stopped a Battistolli security van, detonating a bomb that tore the vehicle apart. Dramatic footage shows smoke and debris flying as the thieves, armed with rifles, scrambled to grab the cash from the destroyed van.

The total amount stolen has not yet been confirmed.

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The audacious attack has drawn comparisons to the 1969 film The Italian Job, in which Michael Caine and Tony Beckley’s characters use explosives to rob a van in a similar, high-stakes fashion.

Video from the highway shows the robbers blocking traffic by setting another vehicle on fire and parking their own cars strategically. During the chaos, the gang exchanged gunfire with responding Italian police. Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto called the incident “a bloody incident,” according to CNN.

An armored truck under attack by two men on a highway, with an explosion beside the truck. — A ring of criminals blows up an armored van full of cash on an highway in Puglia, Italy, on Monday. Quotidiano di Puglia

At least one police officer was injured, and images from the scene show a bullet hole in a police car windshield. Italian authorities confirmed that no members of the public were hurt.

In addition to targeting the armored van, the thieves reportedly robbed other vehicles stopped on the highway.

A masked robber in a white suit and black balaclava holds a rifle beside a dark gray car with blue flashing lights on its roof. — The masked thieves uses rifles to fire at responding police. Quotidiano di Puglia

An armored truck on fire with large flames and black smoke on a highway in Puglia, Italy. — The thieves are believed to have first set fire to another vehicle on the highway to stop traffic. Quotidiano di Puglia

Two suspects—aged 38 and 62—have been arrested in connection with the heist and face charges including attempted murder, aggravated robbery, and possession of war weapons, RAI reported.

Battistolli, the security company, described the robbery as the latest in a troubling series of attacks. “In the last two years, the Battistolli Group has suffered 14 attacks, a situation that requires attention and concrete action,” the company said. They added, “We express our closeness and solidarity to our colleagues, the bystanders involved, and their families.”

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