A bold and heavily armed daylight robbery attempt collapsed into chaos on the morning of February 9, 2026, after Italian police swiftly intervened during an attempted ambush of a cash-in-transit vehicle on a major highway in southern Italy. The incident unfolded around 9 a.m. along a state road in Puglia, near Tuturano, when a gang of masked robbers launched a coordinated assault on a Battistolli armored cash van operated by BTV Battistolli.

According to authorities, the suspects posed as police escorts, using flashing lights and wearing disguises that included white hazmat-style suits. The gang blocked traffic by setting a truck on fire across the roadway, creating a smoke-filled choke point before detonating explosives to force open the armored van’s doors. Dashcam and surveillance footage captured intense moments of gunfire, with the attackers firing Kalashnikov-style rifles as explosions echoed across the highway.

Carabinieri officers responded rapidly, arriving on scene within minutes and exchanging gunfire with the suspects. A patrol vehicle was struck by multiple rounds during the shootout, but remarkably, no officers, civilians, or security personnel were injured. Faced with the fast police response, the gang fled without securing any cash, abandoning the robbery attempt entirely.

A high-speed pursuit followed, leading to the arrest of two suspects from the Foggia area. The remaining members of the gang escaped and are now the subject of an expanded manhunt. Investigators believe the operation bore hallmarks of organized criminal networks that have increasingly targeted cash transport vehicles using military-style tactics and explosives.

While no money was stolen and no lives were lost, the brazen nature of the attack has raised renewed concerns about organized crime activity in the region. Italian authorities emphasized that the rapid intervention by the Carabinieri prevented what could have become a far more deadly incident and reaffirmed their commitment to aggressively confronting armed criminal groups operating on public roadways.