We want a pizza the action! Crooks steal €160,000 from Milan bank after digging through the wall of a Domino’s next door
- The robbers were able to break through the wall of a bank with a closed Domino's
- The chain closed all its stores nationwide last year, but failed to win over Italians
Brave bank robbers stole €160,000 from a bank in Milan today after breaking through the wall of a neighboring pizzeria.
A gang of four broke into the BPM in Piazza Salgari at around 9.30am after digging through the wall of a permanently closed Domino's next door.
The group – dubbed the 'hole gang' by Italian media – claimed to have weapons and took seven hostages before looting the vault.
As much as €160,000 was withdrawn from the bank before the crooks made a daring escape and disappeared undisturbed before police arrived around 10am.
Four men are believed to still be at large as detectives scour the scene for clues.
The men are said to have dug a tunnel through a closed pizzeria next door
Investigators are examining the small hole cut in the couch by the pizzeria on Wednesday
Photo shows a hole in the wall of the bank during a crime scene investigation in Milan, Italy
Victims told police that the men entered the bank and tied their hands and feet with zip ties.
Two employees were then released long enough to take the cash in boxes.
They said one of the men had a Campania accent and the three others sounded Sicilian.
The men told the hostages they were armed, but 'it seems no one saw any weapons or knives', Italian outlet Fanpage reported.
The men reportedly had their faces 'disfigured' and have not yet been identified.
Footage from the crime scene showed police later investigating the hole punched in the bank's wall, marked 'A'.
The small hole turned out to be large enough for one person to crawl through at a time.
Forensic teams were called to investigate while detectives were called in to track down the robbers, Corriere Della Sera reported.
Photos from the scene later showed the area was partially cordoned off when police cars arrived.
The bank is located just south of a closed Domino's pizzeria on Emilio Salgari in the city's Calvairate district.
The Italian palate rejected Domino's, forcing the American chain to withdraw from Italy last year after struggling to find an audience at the Bel Paese.
Domino's Italia existed for just seven years after it laid out an ambitious plan to build 880 outlets nationwide by 2030, filing for bankruptcy in April 2022 after opening 29 branches.
Agrodolcewho first reported the story cited the pandemic, a dramatic drop in sales and an “exponential increase in competition” as reasons for the closure.
Outlets had a temporary premiere in Milan in 2015, before establishing themselves in Turin, Bologna, Parma and Rome.
None made it as far south as Naples, the proud historic home of the pizza margherita.