Armed Gang Storms Cash-in-Transit Van in Daring Daylight Heist on Southern Italy Highway

A brazen armed robbery unfolded on a major highway in southern Italy on Monday after a well-organised gang attacked a cash-in-transit van in broad daylight, bringing traffic to a complete standstill and triggering a massive police manhunt.

The dramatic heist took place along the busy Brindisi–Lecce highway near the town of Tuturano. According to initial reports, the armoured vehicle was transporting a large sum of money when it was ambushed in the early hours of the morning by a heavily armed group believed to number around ten people.

Witnesses described a highly coordinated operation. The attackers, dressed in black and white jumpsuits and wearing masks, used several stolen vehicles to block both sides of the highway. The cars were then set ablaze, forming what authorities later described as a “wall of fire” that cut off civilian traffic and delayed any immediate police response.

With the road sealed, the robbers turned their focus to the armoured van. They used powerful military-grade explosives to blast open the rear doors and breach the reinforced safe inside. The explosion sent thick black smoke into the air and was captured in videos that quickly spread across social media platforms.

During the assault, the gang fired multiple gunshots from Kalashnikov-style rifles and shotguns, apparently to intimidate the security guards and keep passersby at a distance. Despite the intensity of the attack, no injuries or deaths were reported, a fact authorities described as “remarkable” given the scale of violence involved.

After securing the cash — the exact amount has not yet been officially confirmed, though it is believed to be substantial — the attackers fled the scene in high-powered vehicles. To prevent pursuit, they scattered metal spikes across the roadway, damaging the tyres of any vehicles that might attempt to follow them. The group reportedly escaped toward the Squinzano area in the province of Lecce, disappearing into the rural road network of the Salento region.

Italian police immediately launched a large-scale operation, deploying patrol units and helicopters to track the suspects. Despite the swift response, the gang managed to evade capture, prompting renewed concerns about organised crime targeting cash transport routes.

The highway ambush adds to a growing list of similar robberies in Italy in recent months. Authorities are investigating possible links to other high-profile attacks, including a €2 million robbery carried out inside a tunnel in Calabria in December and another €400,000 heist on the A14 highway in Abruzzo in early January.

As investigations continue, the incident has reignited debate around highway security and the vulnerability of cash-in-transit operations, particularly in regions where criminal networks have a long history of executing highly sophisticated robberies.