Thieves Stop Train, Steal Cigarettes

Thieves used a homemade stop light Tuesday to rob an Italian train loaded with cigarettes craved by black marketeers. It was the third such robbery in southern Italy in less than four months, news reports said.

Police said about a dozen bandits planted a homemade red light on the tracks in the countryside in the Puglia region in southeastern Italy, forcing the Sicily-bound train to halt. The gang made off with about two tons of cigarettes legally manufactured by Italy’s state tobacco monopoly and loaded them onto a truck. Many Italian smokers feed their habit with cigarettes bought from black-market vendors, avoiding steep taxes.