Six men were arrested yesterday afternoon in connection with a spectacular but unsuccessful ambush on a private security van transporting around €2.8 million in cash in Sta Venera.

Three vans, a pickup truck, a motorcycle and a bulldozer were used in the failed heist that targeted bank money being carried in a van belonging to Security Services Ltd.

Shots were fired in the highly daring and carefully planned operation that in the end turned out to be too ambitious.

The attempted hold-up was staged at around 9.30 a.m. when the van had to come to an abrupt stop in Qormi Road after two vehicles - one at the front and the other at the rear - blocked its path, police sources said.

A grey pickup truck was parked deliberately in front of it while a small white van drove up from behind and stopped a short distance away, hemming the security vehicle in.

A man on a motorcycle then sped up to the front of the van, recognisable by its distinctive blue stripe on a white background, while a fourth person working a small bulldozer came up at the rear and tried to wedge open its doors.

The would-be robbers' plan went quickly wrong, however, when the van, which is built like a safe, would not buckle. The bulldozer's driver tried to detach or at least dent the reinforced steel doors but they would not give way.

The effort instead ended up pushing the van forward and dislodging the pickup truck. Without the truck holding the van steady, the bulldozer lost leverage and its blade broke, police sources explained.

At one point around seven shots were fired. At least one hit the security van's window but it failed to shatter the bulletproof glass. The security guards in the vehicle - driver and passenger - were unhurt.

The police believe at least two weapons were used - a shotgun and a revolver.

Within a matter of minutes the robbery had to be abandoned and the men escaped in a white van which was then set on fire at the Mrieħel industrial estate.

The police sources said the robbers had gone into great detail in their plans, which included another getaway van waiting in Mrieħel and diesel being poured onto the road to prevent anyone from following them.

Six people were arrested after the hold-up, which the police suspect was planned around three months ago. All the vehicles used in the attempted robbery had been stolen, although the theft of the two white vans was reported as far back as July.

The security company sent another van to remove the money from the damaged one.