More than a year ago, on January 31, 2024, he was one of the involuntary protagonists of a ruthless armed attack on an armored van in Siligo. A robbery planned down to the smallest details, carried out with almost military precision. Today, looking at the images of the latest attack on armored vans in Tuscany, Angelo Azara, 41, a security guard, feels a shiver down his spine. "In my opinion, it's the same commando that struck in Siligo and Caniga," he says with conviction.
He experienced that day first-hand: a security guard for the Vigilpol, he was on board one of the vans in the convoy transporting millions of euros, when a compactor truck was used by bandits to block the road. In the clash he suffered several fractures, but the memory of that attack is an even deeper mark.
Azara, who holds three degrees and a specialization in geopolitics, security and intelligence, is an industry analyst .
And today his vision goes beyond the single event that, despite himself, he experienced first-hand: «Compared to the Siligo commando in Tuscany, there were the best, the most trained», he says in a tone that leaves little room for doubt.
Returning to the attack on Siligo, he remembers every detail. "I was in one of the vans that were attacked, one of the bandits spoke Italian, but he was undoubtedly Sardinian, probably not from Barbagia."
His analysis, however, focuses on the methods of action: "They move with incredible confidence, they have a mastery of weapons that you certainly don't learn in the countryside. They are trained people, as demonstrated by the precise use of explosives, like a real local team. An assault like this cannot be improvised, there are months and months of planning, study and exercises".
And he also reiterates that it is the same criminal group that does not operate only in Sardinia: «They probably have connections in other regions and move easily. It is a well-organized network».
Then a bitter conclusion: according to him, in fact, these attacks will not stop. "Unfortunately it will happen again, it is necessary that security companies and the State carry out pure and effective prevention. The private security sector is obsolete, regulated by antiquated rules. The transport of valuables is a sieve, carried out with procedures from decades ago. Something is moving but it is not enough".