Police have arrested 13 people during Operation “RedWolf”, accusing them of forming a criminal group specialized in stealing goods from heavy vehicles traveling on Italy’s motorway network. The probe was carried out by the Road Police judicial unit in Emilia-Romagna with officers from the Road Police judicial unit in Pavia and motorway subsections in Modena Nord and Forlì A14. Investigators traced the case to an earlier incident on the A21, when a cargo semi-trailer was targeted while it was moving. Police said the group used a dangerous method nicknamed “acrobatic theft” or “surfing”. It involved approaching the semi-trailer during the journey and having one accomplice access the cargo compartment through an opening made on the rear door. Over the night before the arrests, officers followed a convoy of vehicles linked to the group along the A21 and spotted a heavy vehicle that had been stripped. Surveillance then continued as investigators located the band’s logistics bases in the provinces of Pavia and Piacenza. In the early hours of the morning, police conducted simultaneous raids at two separate properties and arrested the 13 suspects. During the searches, officers recovered the full stolen cargo, described as luxury goods valued at around 700,000 euro, and returned it to the rightful owners. A further person was reported in freedom for receiving stolen goods, after allegedly providing a location used to store the stolen merchandise. Additional investigations are under way to check whether the group was behind similar thefts across Italy. The 13 people are in custody after being arrested on orders from the public prosecutor in the competent prosecution office.