Armed robbers have made off with over £18,000 in Argentine pesos from Lionel Messi’s wife’s family supermarket after targeting a cousin of the famous mother-of-three.
The female relative, named locally as 23-year-old Agustina Scalia, was transporting over £18,000 in Argentinian pesos from the family supermarket, in Lavelle, near the centre of Rosario, to a nearby bank when they got robbed on Wednesday morning.
The criminals fired a shot at the car before fleeing following the violent robbery, and pictures from the scene show a bullet lodged in the side of the vehicle.
Two assailants are understood to have got out of a white car, believed to be a Ford Focus, with tinted windows in the city centre and approached the black Chevrolet Onix that Agustina was driving, alongside a female employee of the supermarket.
The robbers then smashed one of the car’s window and grabbed two rucksacks, each filled with four million pesos in cash, before running off.
Fortunately no-one was seriously injured, although the occupants of the Chevrolet were treated for shock.
The female relative of Lionel Messi (pictured), named locally as Agustina Scalia, is said to have been transporting nearly £20,000 in Argentinian pesos from the family supermarket
Agustina Scalia is the cousin of Lionel Messi’s wife Antonela Roccuzzo (pictured)
Agustina Scalia (pictured, centre) was robbed of over £18,000 worth of Pesos in a shock armed robbery today
Agustina was seen being treated at the scene by paramedics, and police have put up traffic cones around the scene
Marianela, a Único worker who was inside the car during the robbery, told local media: ‘We were going from the store to the bank to deposit money. They broke our windows and took our bags.
‘At the moment when everything started I only heard impacts. When we got out we saw the bullet impact.’
She added that she was confused as to how the robbers knew they were carrying the large amount of money.
‘We left with our bags closed. They didn’t give us exact information about how much there was. We left it on the bank and came back. It’s not something we always do.’
‘The driver was Agustina, the owner of the company. She tried to speed up, but we had a car ahead and he couldn’t, that’s why he hit the car.’
Agustina was seen being treated at the scene by paramedics, and police have put up traffic cones around the scene.
Police are still investigating the robbery, and told local media that they have not ruled out that a second vehicle was involved.
Police chief Diego Santamaria, revealing details of the hold-up this morning, said: ‘The two people targeted were leaving the supermarket and heading to a nearby bank.
‘They were intercepted by a white car whose occupants broke their window and took rucksacks with a large amount of money, approximately eight million Argentine pesos according to the victims.
‘At least one car participated in the crime. The shot occurred apparently when the vehicle tried to speed away from the scene.
‘There are cameras in the area.’
A doctor who assisted the victims of the robbery told local media: ‘They have slight abrasions and high blood pressure but otherwise they’re okay.’
The shock attack comes just months after gunmen attacked a supermarket in Rosario owned by Antonela’s family, called Supermercado Unico and managed by one of her cousins, and left a chilling message for the football star.
One of two men on a motorbike was caught on CCTV walking up to the premises and firing repeatedly at metal shutters over the windows and front door.
More than half a dozen shots were fired at the supermarket.
The robbers fired at least one bullet during the shock robbery
Police are still investigating the robbery, and said that the assailants used ‘at least one car’
Police chief Diego Santamaria said: ‘The shot occurred apparently when the vehicle tried to speed away from the scene’
The attack took place in Lavelle, near the centre of the Argentine city of Rosario
The attackers left a handwritten message at the scene which said in reference to Rosario’s mayor Pablo Javkin: ‘Messi Javkin is not going to look after you.’
A local TV station which reported on the attack claimed at the time the message suggested criminals may be trying to extort money from the former Barcelona footballer.
Mauricio Macri, an Argentinian businessman who served as the South American country’s president from 2015 to 2019, described the March incident as terrible and offered his support to the footballer and his wife.
Referring to Lionel by his shortened name of Leo, as he is better known in his homeland and other Spanish-speaking countries, and alluding to the drug-fuelled violence in Rosario, he tweeted: ‘This is terrible.
‘Another warning to the national government and the government of Santa Fe that you cannot co-exist with narcos.
‘They have to be firmly fought.’
Messi owns a huge mansion on the outskirts of Rosario called ‘The Fortress.’
The monster property, built on three adjoining plots of land in a gated private estate, has a huge cinema, gym and underground garage with enough space for 15 cars.
He married his wife Antonela in a glitzy wedding at Rosario’s City Centre Hotel and Casino in June 2017.
Guests included former Man City striker Sergio Aguero and Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez.
More to follow.