He had been on the run for over a month, but his escape has finally come to an end: Franco Giuseppe Chessa, 54, from Irgoli, considered the key figure for a criminal group specializing in robberies of armored vehicles and vaults, has been arrested by the police.
His final sentence, handed down by the Court of Cassation, was 13 years and 5 months in prison , which was revised at the end of October after his acquittal on a lesser charge. Chessa was accused of participating in spectacular heists: from the 2015 attack on Vigilpol, which stole approximately €500,000, to the 2016 mega-heist on Mondialpol, which stole approximately €11 million, to the attempted robbery of the Sassari vault .
The Cagliari Prosecutor's Office identified him as connected to the group led by former Villagrande deputy mayor Giovanni Olianas and Luca Arzu from Talamone . Upon hearing of the Supreme Court's ruling, Chessa had escaped a total sentence of over eleven years still to be served . Only after intense investigative activity by the Sassari Flying Squad and thanks to delicate persuasion among friends and relatives, did the fugitive, who owns a business in the Thiesi countryside, decide to turn himself in. He was then transferred to Bancali prison, where he will begin serving his sentence.
