When fake armed robbers raided City Hall last week, police were on scene to draw their weapons. It could have gone horribly wrong…This is not a scene from the highly anticipated Money Heist Season 5, but a real event that happened in Alginet.
Three hooded men stormed into the building in Alginet, just south of Albufera, and demanded that everyone lie down on the floor. Five Civil Guard patrols quickly gathered in front of the building, with policemen hidden behind the vehicles, pointing their guns at the robbers…
This is a brief summary of the incredible story that occurred last week in Alginet, a small town in Valencia province bordering the marches of Albufera. Aitor Espert, a Spanish director, almost got arrested while filming a scene for his new series Powerboys, which is set to premiere next year on the Netflix streaming platform. The reason for this was when the mayor approved a robbery scene that was taking place in City Hall, used as a location for a bank, nobody thought to advise the police.
The panic began when neighbours called 112 to report that a group of hooded men armed with automatic weapons had entered Alginet’s City Hall. The Guardia Civil was quick to respond and summoned all patrols in the area. Soon, five patrols surrounded the building, policemen drew weapons, hid behind the vehicles, watched the robbers and began negotiating with the perpetrators in the best tradition of a good American police drama. It is unclear how this potentially fatal situation was defused, but given that no one was actually shot, it appears that this is a rare type of armed robbery with a happy ending.
The main culprit seems to be the mayor of Alginet, José Vicente Alemany, who agreed to offer the City Hall to the film crew and opened the doors, but failed to notify local police. The film company was also supposed to notify the police, but they equally failed to do so. Armed with replica machine guns, the actors were apparently convincing enough for neighbours to call the cops. What followed was like an unrehearsed take from one of the best crime movies, a scene reminiscent of the hugely successful Spanish series Money Heist (Casa De Papel) – but with real cops. And this time, in sleepy Alginet instead of the Reserve Bank of Spain.
Director Aitor Espert (who was also playing one of the robbers) downplayed the incident, saying that everything was resolved quickly. However, it must have been a life lesson for the Valencian artist, who is best known for his short and documentary films produced by the Valencian company Spectro Films.
On the plus side, no one was shot, and the actors have become legendary very quickly among colleagues for being so convincing. It’s probably too late for them to appear in Money Heist season 5, but you never know, even though producers have denied that there will be a season 6.
© Money Heist Season 5: Netflix Actors Filming Robbery Scene Under Siege By Armed Police – TheValencian
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