A gang of thieves in Italy have made off with roughly $2.6 million in a brazen heist that wouldn’t look out of place in a Hollywood blockbuster.
Jalopnik reports that a security van carrying pension money from the southeastern city of Bari to Matera was intercepted by a group of four to five people while on a motorway. They reportedly brandished submachine guns and were waiting on the side of the road for the security van to pass by.
According to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno, the thieves set alight two semi-trucks to block the road before using two excavators placed at the side of the road to rip off the roof of the cash-loaded van. There were three security guards in the van at the time, but none of them were injured.
The masked thieves then fled the scene in a car that was waiting for them.
Local authorities closed the motorway in both directions while investigating the scene, with traffic diverted along a different road.
The police haven’t said if they have any leads on the thieves and if they are close to making any arrests.
Nonetheless, the makers of future heist films may want to draw inspiration from this real-life incident and perhaps bring something even more outlandish to the big screen.