The State Police of the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani carried out four detention orders between 28 and 29 April 2026 against men aged between 40 and 50, all with criminal records, as part of an investigation into truck robberies and the handling of stolen food products. Two of the suspects live in Andria and two in the province of Bari. The inquiry stems from a robbery in Margherita di Savoia against a haulier, who was later found in a state of shock by a patrol car from the Barletta police station. That incident triggered the investigation coordinated by the Squadra Mobile, which reconstructed the subsequent movements of the stolen goods and the alleged links with a second attack. The new incident took place on 1 April 2026 near the Bari Nord motorway toll booth, again targeting a haulier.
The case concerns a sensitive segment of freight transport: high-unit-value food loads that are easy to split up and move quickly into illegal channels. These included cured meats and cheeses produced in Emilia, such as hams and Parmigiano Reggiano PDO, goods with a recognisable market and steady demand. The searches carried out on 8 April 2026 proved to be the decisive stage of the investigation. Officers found €90,000 in cash at the home of one suspect, while another individual had stored goods worth about €80,000, mainly cured meats and cheeses. The total value of the seizures indicated by sources therefore amounts to €170,000, including cash and food products.
A key tool in the investigation was the Batcam system, a video surveillance network that integrates public and private systems across the province of BAT. Its cameras recorded two of the suspects while they were transferring the stolen goods in an open area on the outskirts of Trani. This enabled investigators to connect the attack phase with the subsequent movement and possible distribution of the load.
