Two suspected gang members have been arrested following a violent daylight raid on an Italian motorway, where armed robbers impersonating police blew up an armoured security van, as outlined by Metro.
The incident took place on Monday on State Road 613 in Puglia, after a gang dressed in matching white overalls and balaclavas, and carrying assault rifles, used a burning lorry to block the convoy’s escape.
Heavily armed men, believed to be from the Foggia area, deceived guards by arriving in a blue Alfa Romeo with flashing lights to mimic a police escort. They then placed a bomb on the back of the white van and detonated it in a bid to access the loot inside.
A shootout ensued between the gangsters and police, with bullets flying and one round piercing a police car’s windscreen. Officers managed to fend off the attack on the van, which belonged to the security firm Battistolli and regularly transports luxury watches.
To escape, the gangsters hijacked cars from passing motorists. Detectives chased an Alfa Romeo at high speed, finding it abandoned in the countryside and arresting one man as he tried to flee. Another gang member was arrested after attempting to escape on foot.
No injuries were reported in the raid.
Nicola Magno, the Puglia regional secretary general of the policing union Un Arma, stated that the Carabinieri were on the front lines of an extremely violent and organised criminal act, with a patrol hit by gunfire demonstrating the high level of risk officers face daily. He attributed the avoidance of tragedy to the professionalism, composure, and sense of duty of the Carabinieri.
Magno demanded greater protection, concrete investments in resources, training, and security measures, emphasising that citizen safety depends on the safety of the Carabinieri and that immediate, structured responses are needed to protect officers in increasingly aggressive and militarised criminal environments.
