What began as a bank robbery in Naples this Thursday has ended up as a cinematic criminal operation. One day after the robbery and the holding of 30 hostages, Italian authorities have confirmed that the robbers managed to escape through a tunnel and, for now, remain at large. Everything points to the fact that, once they got the loot, the thieves used the sewer system itself to leave the building, which was heavily cordoned off, according to the Europa Press agency, citing the media Napoli Today.
The robbery occurred on Thursday at a Crédit Agricole branch in the prestigious Arenella neighborhood. The thieves ― three, according to the newspaper La Repubblica ― burst in with masks, threatened employees and customers with firearms, and emptied the contents of several safety deposit boxes. To prevent intervention by law enforcement, they barricaded themselves with 30 hostages, according to the Government Delegation in Naples.
The customers were quickly freed by the Special Intervention Unit of the Carabinieri and, immediately, the agents entered to capture the criminals. However, there was no trace of them.
According to Napoli Today, they used a tunnel that connected to the sewer system and escaped through there. The operation was meticulously planned, with precision, and carried out with extreme speed, according to authorities.
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The mayor of Naples, Gaetano Manfredi, described the assault as “a movie job.” “It was really a robbery planned over months. I am surprised that so many people working underground for months were not detected,” he said.
So far, security forces have seized what they believed were two pistols; later, they confirmed they were replicas.
For now, the value of the loot has not been reported. According to bank employees, cited by La Repubblica, the gang looted the “private boxes,” which did not contain cash. Dozens of people gathered on Thursday night at the branch to demand information about their bank deposits.
