Mobile phone footage captured chaotic scenes shortly before 8am on the road between Lecce and Brindisi, where an armoured cash transporter was ambushed by six to eight masked robbers. A gunfight ensued as the local Carabinieri engaged the suspects.
To force the vehicle to stop, the attackers placed a small truck and a van in the middle of the road and set them on fire. The suspects, wearing white and black overalls, had reportedly fixed blue lights to their cars – likely to make them appear as police vehicles. The robbers then detonated an explosive device on the transporter, but a foam-based security mechanism was triggered, ultimately thwarting the theft. Footage shows the armoured vehicle being blown into the air by the blast.
The group fled the scene, reportedly commandeering vehicles from passing motorists to breach the police barrier.
Authorities later confirmed that two individuals had been arrested, while the others remain at large.
No injuries were reported.
