Named after the world-famous 1963 film comedy starring Peter Sellers, the Pink Panthers consists of approximately 250 members. The gang operates in varying numbers and is suspected of more than 120 jewel robberies worldwide. In total, many tens of millions of euros worth of jewelry were stolen.
In 2007, Interpol even briefly opened a special Pink Panther department. The infamous gang was nicknamed when British detectives found an expensive diamond ring in a jar of cream, just like in the movie.
According to art detective Brand, the Panthers’ robberies are almost always high-profile and full of risk. For example, the gang once drove into an expensive shopping center with two cars and the thieves, à la James Bond, fled with a speedboat. The robberies usually last no longer than a few minutes and the perpetrators appear to be particularly good at disguising.
precious necklace
The unsolved robbery at art fair Tefaf seems to fit well in this list. It happened in broad daylight and was over in no time. The four perpetrators walked into warehousing just before noonpeaky blinders-style – neatly dressed and with the typical caps on – entered the art fair. Moments later, they stopped at the stand of renowned London jeweler Symbolic & Chase. They put on gloves there. While one of them pulled out a hammer and smashed a display case, his accomplices kept everyone at bay with a handgun.
Camera images show how the man with the hammer fumbles in the broken display case and puts something in a bag. It is probably an extremely valuable necklace by top designer Joel Arthur Rosenthal and earrings by Cartier. All five suspects are still on the run.
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Colorful figures
Over time, the methods of the robbers become more and more clear. From the images shown on Monday in the RTL 5 program Investigation NL turns out that the men entered the stock exchange building separately on the day of the robbery. They only had to show a ticket and could continue their way unhindered. “If I had to bet my money on it, I’d say it’s the work of the Pink Panthers,” art detective Arthur Brand says based on those images.
According to Brand, the Pink Panthers are ‘colorful figures’ that originated in the former Yugoslavia. They specialize in stealing jewelry, jewelry and expensive watches. “What we saw in Maastricht were fearless men clearly raising their middle fingers to the rest of the world. Robbing a busy and secured stock exchange in broad daylight, you have to dare to do it. They took a big risk and the Pink Panthers are known worldwide for that.”
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Electric scooters
Police say a fifth suspect is believed to be involved in the robbery. He would have bought the tickets for the four robbers a day in advance. All suspects eventually fled on electric scooters and probably got into a car further down the road. The chance that they will still be arrested is greater than that the diamonds will be found, says Brand. “I would not like to be in the shoes of the robbers. At the moment it is all hands on deck at the Dutch police: they are doing everything they can to find them. Don’t underestimate that.”
Brand is less hopeful about the stolen jewels. “Anything could have happened to that by now.” According to the detective, it rarely happens that famous jewelry is sold completely. “I suspect that they can no longer be found in their original condition. They had them sharpened, or they removed the most precious stones or had them filed. If they did indeed steal that big yellow diamond, then I expect they’ve already made it three times smaller. This is how jewel thieves usually work. They take the risk of being arrested, and when they are released a few years later they should be very rich.”
Raided by Pink Panthers
2003, London. Two men walk into Graff jewelry store on New Bond Street. They wear costumes and special wigs. In just three minutes they smash the counter to smithereens with a hammer and collect 47 jewels, worth a total of 27 million euros. One of the men is pushed to the ground, the other makes off with most of the loot on a scooter. Newspaper headlines say it is the largest jewelery theft in British history. It is this incident that gives the gang its name. Detectives later find a ring worth 600,000 euros hidden in a jar of face cream, just like in the American films of ‘The Pink Panther’.
2005, Saint Tropez. A few men in cheerful Hawaiian shirts and wigs mingle with the wealthy holidaymakers on the French south coast. At some point, they put on masks and storm into a jewelry store. They grab a bunch of jewelry and watches and then take off in a speedboat that is waiting nearby.
2007, Tokyo. An elegantly dressed man pushes open the door of jeweler Exelco in the chic shopping district of Ginza and steps to the counter. A second man with a mouth mask and an umbrella follows. He reaches into his backpack and takes out a rifle. The first man calmly opens a display case and takes out a jeweled tiara and a necklace, worth 2.3 million euros. Meanwhile, his companion squirts a bottle of tear gas on the staff. Then they turn and leave. They have been inside for a total of 36 seconds.
It is not the gang’s first robbery in Tokyo. Three years earlier, they also stole a diamond necklace worth 30 million euros, also known as the Comtesse de Vendôme. Even then, they were inside the jewelry store for less than a minute. It was the largest jewelry heist in Japanese history.
Tags: robbers million diamond Maastricht Possibly Pink Panthers
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