A DARING gang of thieves have waded through a dirty sewer before drilling a hole up into a lavish jewellery store in an Ocean's Eleven-style raid.
The burglars managed to swipe at least half a million euros (£400,000) worth of luxury jewellery before fleeing from cops in the heist.
Pricey watches and glittering jewellery were all stolen in the intricately designed robbery after police in Rome spent 11 minutes trying to get through the barricaded door.
The high-market store sits along one of Rome's most expensive shopping streets in Condotti which features other stores such as Hermes, Cartier, Gucci and Bottega Veneta.
Three to five thieves made up the gang who walked several miles through the extensive sewage system in Rome at the dead of night on Sunday.
Two New York cops stabbed during celebrations in Times Square
The looters found a spot directly underneath the Bulgari boutique as they are believed to have set up a pneumatic hammer drill and started to chip away at the sewer's ceiling.
After just a few minutes, the drill crushed through the remaining rock and flooring of the store above, unveiling a perfect human-sized hole.
The gang rushed up a ladder as they quickly shut off a pair of CCTV cameras inside.
Before they ransacked the store by smashing protective cases and stuffing as many jewels into their bags as possible.
Just a few moments into the Hollywood-esque raid one of the thieves tripped a security alarm.
Noticing the cameras were down inside the store, the security company swiftly responded to the alert and jumped on the phone to the police.
Just before midnight, sirens from the Rome Flying Squad began to blare across the capital as several officials turned up to investigate.
After seven minutes, the patrol squad arrived in Condotti.
The thieves barricaded the front door shut to the shop before they escaped back down the hole and waded through the sewers to safety.
This gave them another four minutes as cops attempted to barge through and catch the thieves red handed, say Italian media.
At least nine killed after New Year's Day stampede at shopping centre
Footage from around the neighbouring shops and along the sewer networks are now being analysed.
There is speculation among Italian media that the thieves kept the Bulgari store under surveillance for months before the heist.
The gang left behind a crowbar in the boutique store which cops are now set to scan for fingerprints.
Romolo Guasco, the head of Confcommercio - an association of retailers - said: “We express deep concern after the latest theft from a jewellers’ in the capital.
“We need better surveillance and greater prevention.”
Bulgari jewellery has been worn by celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly and Gina Lollobrigida in the past.
Due to the value of whats inside a Bulgari store they have been targeted by raids in the past.
Last year, three men stole millions of euros’ worth of goods from Paris in broad daylight.
Riding a pair of black motorcycles, two of the trio confronted staff with assault rifles as they threatened security.
One of the criminals was even reported to have hit one of the guards with the butt of his gun before they raided the shop.
They then started to pile up bags with jewellery and luxury watches before fleeing on their bikes in a "calm escape", said cops.
The same store was robbed less than two years earlier in a huge heist that saw six men snatch €10 million (£8.8 million) worth of goods.
Half of the robbers have since been jailed over the carnage with one being detained after just minutes of his getaway.
It comes as a gang of stealthy thieves made off with £24million from a vault before vanishing without a trace just months ago.
Police were left scratching their heads after a safe in Los Angeles was emptied - marking one of the largest cash robberies in the city's history.
An employee, who wished to remain anonymous, was absolutely shocked to discover what happened.
"It's just mind blowing that you would never suspect it," he told Eyewitness News.
"$30 million in the Valley, gone. How? Why? I'm still trying to process it.
"Was it an inside job? Was it just one person? Was it a group? You know, there's a lot of questions."
As back in July 2022, £800million worth of jewellery was stolen from a transport vehicle parked at truck stop in southern California.
The thieves used a 27-minute window while one driver slept and the other ate to stuff 20 large bags with their bounty of jewels.
