Robbers Blow Open Armored Truck in Brazen Daylight Heist

A gang of masked robbers armed with Kalashnikovs turned an Italian highway into a war zone, detonating explosives that launched an armored van into the air, yet walked away with nothing but handcuffs.

Story Snapshot

Six to ten robbers blocked State Road 613 near Tuturano, Italy, with burning vehicles and fake police lights before 8 a.m. on February 9, 2026
Explosives blasted a Battistolli Group cash van airborne, but a foam security system sealed the payload, preventing any cash theft
A firefight erupted with Carabinieri police, hitting one police vehicle with bullets, yet no injuries occurred on either side
Two suspects from the Foggia area were arrested within an hour; helicopters and checkpoints continue hunting four or more fugitives
The failed heist caps a surge of European highway bandit attacks targeting cash-in-transit vehicles across southern Italy

When Military Tactics Meet Morning Commutes

The ambush unfolded with cinematic precision just before 8 a.m. on a busy commercial corridor linking Lecce and Brindisi. Robbers dressed in white and black overalls erected a wall of flames across SS 613 by torching vehicles, stopping traffic cold. Posing as police with flashing lights, they approached the Battistolli armored van and detonated explosives powerful enough to lift the multi-ton vehicle off the pavement. Witnesses described the blast echoing across the Puglia countryside as flames and debris scattered across lanes, transforming a routine workday into chaos.

The attackers wielded Kalashnikov rifles and shotguns, tools typically reserved for warzones, not highway robbery. Their preparation included spike strips to disable pursuing vehicles and carjacked getaway cars to confuse trackers. The level of coordination suggests professional criminal experience, possibly linked to Puglia’s entrenched mafia network, Sacra Corona Unita. Yet despite breaching the van’s exterior with explosives, the crew hit an insurmountable obstacle: a foam security system that instantly sealed the cash compartments, rendering the payload inaccessible. Technology trumped firepower in seconds.

The Foam That Stopped a Fortune

Battistolli Group’s security innovation proved decisive. When the van’s sensors detected the explosion, pressurized foam flooded the cargo area, encasing currency bundles in an impenetrable barrier. This defense mechanism, increasingly adopted across European cash-in-transit fleets, denies criminals the time needed to extract valuables even after physical breaches. The robbers, facing a rapidly hardening foam mass and incoming sirens, abandoned their objective. The system’s effectiveness underscores a brutal truth for highway bandits: brute force alone no longer guarantees a payday in modern armored transport.

The Carabinieri arrived mid-heist, triggering a gunfight that sent motorists diving for cover. Bullets struck a police vehicle, but officers pressed forward, forcing the gang to flee on foot and in stolen cars across rural terrain. Within an hour, authorities apprehended two suspects attempting to escape through Tuturano’s countryside. The swift arrests reflect improved police response protocols honed from Italy’s escalating 2025 robbery cluster, including a December 1 Scilla attack where bandits successfully stole two million euros using identical blockade tactics.

A Pattern Written in Flames and Gunpowder

This assault fits an alarming European trend. Security analysts tracking cash-in-transit crimes document a spike in coordinated highway hits employing arson, fake law enforcement disguises, and military-grade explosives. Italy’s southern regions, crisscrossed by cash corridors serving banks and businesses, attract organized crime seeking high-value targets with rural escape routes. The SS 613’s vulnerability stems from stretches of light traffic surveillance between commercial hubs, offering robbers brief windows to stage elaborate ambushes before reinforcements arrive.

Labor and business monitors flagged multiple 2025 incidents sharing the Tuturano heist’s signature moves: burning barricades, explosive breaches, and armed confrontations. The December Scilla success likely emboldened copycat crews, raising stakes for transport companies and insurers. While the Battistolli van’s foam system worked flawlessly, the robbers’ willingness to deploy incendiaries and engage police in daylight shootouts signals escalating audacity. Experts warn criminals are adapting faster than security upgrades can deploy across Italy’s aging armored fleet.

Manhunt Across Puglia’s Heartland

Helicopters swept over olive groves and rural hamlets as ground units established checkpoints across Puglia’s road network. Forensic teams combed SS 613 for evidence, delaying reopening the highway and stranding commuters for hours. The two detained suspects, reportedly from Foggia, face charges including armed robbery, attempted murder of law enforcement, and property destruction. Prosecutors are examining potential links to prior attacks and whether the crew received logistical support from mafia affiliates embedded in Puglia’s criminal economy.

WATCH: Gang of Armed Robbers Blow Open Armored Truck in Brazen Highway Heist https://t.co/0cdTxjR2mq

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The hunt for remaining fugitives continues, fueled by witness descriptions and abandoned getaway vehicles yielding fingerprints and ballistic evidence. Carabinieri command warned residents to report suspicious activity, acknowledging the suspects’ demonstrated resourcefulness and firepower. The public’s psychological toll lingers as well. Drivers trapped amid explosions and gunfire endured trauma that transcends property damage or traffic delays, eroding confidence in basic road safety across a region already wary of organized crime’s reach.

What Comes After the Smoke Clears

The failed robbery carries broader implications for Italy’s security landscape. Transport companies face pressure to retrofit vehicles with foam systems and potentially add armed escorts, raising operational costs passed to businesses and consumers. Insurers may hike premiums for routes traversing mafia-influenced zones, straining small firms reliant on cash logistics. Politically, the incident intensifies calls for federal crackdowns on highway banditry, testing the government’s resolve against deeply rooted criminal networks that have plagued southern Italy for generations.

Yet the Tuturano outcome also offers a counternarrative: rapid police mobilization and advanced technology can neutralize even paramilitary-level threats. No fatalities occurred despite a literal battlefield scenario, a testament to both luck and competence. The arrests demonstrate that brazen daylight crimes leave evidentiary trails, making escape harder than cinematic heists suggest. Still, the audacity of lighting highways ablaze and battling police in public demands more than reactive policing. Italy must address whether its cash-in-transit infrastructure invites attacks by design or if Europe faces a new era of emboldened criminal enterprises willing to wage war for wealth.