On the evening of February 4, 2010, the Vittoriosa seafront bore witness to an astonishing event straight out of a blockbuster movie.
Under cover of darkness, a gang of at least five hooded and armed individuals raided the casino, making off with a hefty six-figure sum.
white Pajero which was found shortly after submerged in an inlet at the far end of the waterfront.
The daring heist took place just after 7.15 p.m. when the hooded gang walked into the casino, brandishing firearms.
Two anglers witnessed a group of men dump the vehicle into the sea and escape in a small white boat with a canopy.
The police and the Armed Forces of Malta launched an air, land and sea search using cars, a helicopter and patrol boats but no trace of the boat was found.
As the search continued in various parts of the island, investigators questioned the casino's employees and patrons and viewed the images captured by several security cameras in the building and along the waterfront.
In the days immediately after the theft, the police interviewed a number of persons, but no one was arraigned. Investigators suspect that the thieves were Maltese and may have been linked to the attempted hold-up on a bank security van only a month before.
No one was ever caught, and the exact amount of the haul was never disclosed, making it one of the most incredible, meticulously executed heists in Maltese history.
The Casino di Venezia closed its doors for good a few years later.
The men spoke in Maltese, and there was no hint of a foreign accent.
A security guard on duty at the waterfront entrance that evening was among those questioned. These personnel usually asked those driving onto the quay for their details.
Investigators also examined a wig and a scarf found inside the car that was dumped into the sea.
The heist involved at least six men, four of whom entered the casino, while a fifth waited for them in the car, which had been stolen earlier in the week. Another waited on the speedboat.
“I was duty Leading Hand one night back in 1968 when a fellow duty man saw the Grey Lady at the end of his bed in the Upper Fort. From that day on when ever he was duty he slept in the Lower Fort. He absolutely refused to sleep in the Upper Fort. His fear of the Grey Lady did NOT stop him from having a drink in the Junior Rates Bar though!”
The entire operation was captured by closed-circuit television cameras strategically placed both inside and outside the casino and along the waterfront. The Casino di Venezia heist stands as one of the most intriguing and baffling crimes in recent memory.
Actual shots from the CCTV footage of the heist