Wild West on the A14: Commandos attack an armored van and destroy the armored vehicle with explosives. They steal €400.

Ortona – Action-movie scenes and moments of pure terror unfolded this morning on the A14 motorway. A paramilitary commando, composed of at least four or five people, staged a spectacular attack on an armored van near Ortona, in the Chieti province, managing to escape with an estimated haul of approximately €400,000.

The raid began around 6:30 a.m., on the northbound carriageway. According to initial reports provided by investigators, the gang acted with coolness and military precision. The robbers turned the stretch of highway into a trap: first, they strewn the asphalt with three-pointed nails to puncture tires, then they blocked the road by positioning a heavy vehicle across it, effectively blocking the armored vehicle's escape route.

To force the vehicle to stop, the commandos did not hesitate to open fire. Several shots were fired both in the air as a threat and directly at the security vehicle. Once the armored vehicle was immobilized, the violence escalated: the criminals used an explosive device to break off the doors and access the internal safe, all while the terrified security guards were still inside the vehicle. Fortunately, no security personnel were injured, who escaped unharmed from the inferno of fire and wreckage.

After the robbery, the bandits fled the scene in three high-powered cars, leaving the scene at high speed. The chase ended shortly thereafter, at kilometer 398, where the vehicles used in the robbery were found: two of them had been set on fire to erase any biological traces or fingerprints.

A large-scale manhunt is currently underway throughout the surrounding area. It is not yet clear whether the criminal group continued their escape on foot through the surrounding countryside or whether, as is likely, a fourth "clean" vehicle with an accomplice was waiting to take them away from the red zone. Traffic police officers and forensic scientists are working on the scene to conduct the necessary investigations.