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{{Short description|International jewel thief network}}
{{about|the organized crime network|the series of comedy films|The Pink Panther||The Pink Panther (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|
{{
{{Infobox Criminal organization
| name = Pink Panthers
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| founding location = [[Belgrade]], [[Serbia]]
| founded by = Dragan Mikić<ref name="Three suspected Pink Panther gang members arrested in Monaco"/>
| years active =
| ethnic makeup = Majority [[
| criminal activities = [[Robbery]], [[art theft]], [[burglary]], [[possession of stolen property]]
| allies = [[Serbian Mafia]] YACS Crime Group, [[Russian Mafia]], [[Italian Mafia]], [[
}}
{{Serbian organized crime}}
The '''Pink Panthers''' are an international jewel thief network responsible for a number of [[robbery|robberies]] and [[theft]]s described as some of the most audacious in the history of [[organized crime]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web|last=Fleishman |first=Jeffrey |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-balkan-panthers29-2009jul29,0,315138.story |title=Balkans' Pink Panther jewel thieves smash their way into myth |work=
The Pink Panthers are responsible for what have been termed some of the most "glamorous" heists in history, with one criminologist even describing their crimes as "artistry".<ref name="Three suspected Pink Panther gang members arrested in Monaco"/> They have operated in numerous countries and on several continents, and include [[Japan]]'s most successful robbery amongst their thefts. A film documentary based upon their thefts, ''[[Smash & Grab]]'', was released on 2 July 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elitedaily.com/life/culture/elite-group-thieves/ |title=A Look Inside The Crimes Of The World's Most Powerful Thieves |last=Cuffin |first=Eddie |date=26 June 2012 |website=elitedaily.com |publisher=Elite Daily |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210612091558/https://www.elitedaily.com/life/culture/elite-group-thieves |archive-date=12 June 2021}}</ref>
==Raids==
In 2003, the gang first came to attention and earned the nickname "Pink Panthers" following the theft of a £500,000 diamond from a jewellers in the [[Mayfair]] area of London.<ref name="Three suspected Pink Panther gang members arrested in Monaco"/><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Samuels |first1=David |title=The Pink Panthers |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/04/12/the-pink-panthers |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=9 August 2021}}</ref> The thieves hid the diamond in a jar of face cream, mimicking an act seen in the film ''[[The Return of the Pink Panther]]''.<ref name="Three suspected Pink Panther gang members arrested in Monaco"/> In May 2005, [[Graff (jewellers)|Graff]], a diamond specialist in London, was targeted by Pink Panthers and lost a total of £1 million in jewellery.<ref name="Jewellers hit again in '£1m raid'"/> Three men were suspected of being behind the theft; one was in possession of a firearm.<ref name="Jewellers hit again in '£1m raid'"/> Graff had been targeted in 2002 and lost £23 million on that occasion, £3 million of which was recovered two years later.<ref name="Jewellers hit again in '£1m raid'">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/4588823.stm|title=Jewellers hit again in '£1m raid'|date=28 May 2005|access-date=20 June 2009|publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref name="Gems robber jailed for 15 years"/> One of the thieves was sentenced to 15 years in prison in July 2004.<ref name="Gems robber jailed for 15 years">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/3913345.stm|title=Gems robber jailed for 15 years|date=21 July 2004|access-date=20 June 2009|publisher=BBC}}</ref>
In the space of six years during the 21st century, the Pink Panthers robbed 120 stores in 20
The gang is suspected of participating in at least two smash-and-grab jewellery robberies in Tokyo's [[Ginza]] district. The first, in 2004, netted ¥3.5 million in gems. The second, in June 2007, took jewellery valued at ¥284 million; during the heist, Rifat Hadžiahmetović and Radovan Jelušić sprayed tear gas at three saleswomen before taking a tiara, necklaces, and other jewels and fleeing the store.<ref name="japantimes1">[[Agence France-Presse]]/[[Jiji Press]], "[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120521a5.html 'Pink Panther' to face trial in Montenegro over 2007 Ginza heist]", ''[[Japan Times]]'', 21 May 2012, p. 1</ref>
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The gang is also known for its escapes and its attempts to break into their chosen store. The gang robbed a jewellery store in [[Saint-Tropez]] in 2005 wearing T-shirts emblazoned with flowery designs, before making their escape on a speedboat.<ref name="Three suspected Pink Panther gang members arrested in Monaco"/> Prior to one 2008 robbery of Graff jewellers in [[Dubai]], eight gang members drove a pair of [[Audi]]s through a window, taking watches and other items worth a total of £8 million.<ref name="Three suspected Pink Panther gang members arrested in Monaco"/> In a further robbery in December 2008, four gang members dressed themselves up as women before breaking into Harry Winston jewellers in Paris.<ref name="'Jewel gangster' held in Monaco"/> The gang escaped from the store with items worth over US$100 million (£60 million).<ref name="'Jewel gangster' held in Monaco"/>
Speculation also exists as to certain other robberies having been conducted by the gang; in the August 2009 [[Graff Diamonds robbery|robbery
In 2013, the gang was suspected to have struck again when a man wearing a baseball cap and a scarf covering his face [[Carlton Intercontinental Hotel heist|broke into]] the [[Carlton Cannes|Carlton Hotel]] in [[Cannes]] and made off with $136 million worth of jewels and jewellery being stored by the Leviev diamond house for an exhibit. ''[[Nice-Matin
==Arrests and breakouts==
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Three Pink Panthers from Serbia were declared guilty of robberies carried out in Biarritz, [[Cannes]], [[Courchevel]] and Saint-Tropez by one court in [[Chambéry]] in 2008. Two were given jail terms of six and 10 years.<ref name="Three suspected Pink Panther gang members arrested in Monaco"/>
One suspect in a June 2007 [[Ginza]] heist,
On 20 June 2009, French police in [[Monte Carlo]] detained another three members of the gang seen loitering near jewellery shops in [[Monaco]].<ref name="'Jewel gangster' held in Monaco">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8110963.stm|title='Jewel gangster' held in Monaco|date=20 June 2009|access-date=20 June 2009|publisher=BBC}}</ref> The gang members drove up outside a casino in Casino Square on 18 June 2009. The men were told to lie down and were then handcuffed before being whisked away from the scene quickly.<ref name="Three suspected Pink Panther gang members arrested in Monaco"/>
One of the three arrested, Serbian Dragan Mikić, was of special interest to the police investigation into the gang,<ref name="Pink Panther arrests in Monaco">{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10579930&ref=rss|title=Pink Panther arrests in Monaco|date=22 June 2009|access-date=22 June 2009|newspaper=[[The New Zealand Herald]]}}</ref> having been placed on Interpol's "Most Wanted" list,
A head figure of the Pink Panthers, Mitar Marjanović, was arrested on 8 March 2012 in Rome, after two of his accomplices in a bank robbery, committed a month earlier, dropped stolen items containing Marjanovic's fingerprints.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.focus-fen.net/?id=n272772|title=Serbian Pink Panthers gang's 'brain' arrested|publisher=Focus News Agency|date=8 March 2012|access-date=14 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.novosti.rs%2Fvesti%2Fnaslovna%2Faktuelno.291.html%3A369668-Rim-Uhapsen-Mitar-Marjanovic---jedan-od-vodja-quotPink-panteraquot|title=Rome: Mitar Marjanović arrested as a "Pink Panther" leader|publisher=Novosti online|date=8 March 2012|access-date=14 March 2012}}</ref>
On 14 March 2012, three more members of the gang were arrested in Athens, Greece. Two of the three were male Serbians, aged 20 and 36, and were arrested while
On 14 May 2013, a member of the gang escaped from the "Bois-Mermet" prison in [[Lausanne]], Switzerland. {{As of|June 2021}}, he has not yet been caught. He escaped with the help of three outside accomplices who meticulously prepared the operation. Four other prisoners got away at the same time. On 25 July 2013, [[Milan Poparić]], who was serving a sentence of almost seven years for a 2009 robbery at a jewellery store, was the third Pink Panther to escape from a Swiss prison since May 2013. Also escaping was Swiss kidnapper, [[arsonist]] and [[money laundering|money launderer]] Adrian Albrecht. They were helped out of the prison at [[Orbe]], in western Switzerland, by accomplices who broke through the perimeter fence and brought ladders for the escapees while keeping the prison guards at bay with fire from [[AK-47]]s.<ref>{{cite web|title="Pink Panther" jewel thief escapes Swiss prison|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57595705/pink-panther-jewel-thief-escapes-swiss-prison|publisher=CBS News|access-date=26 July 2013}}</ref>
On 3 June 2015, six
==References==
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==Further reading==
*{{cite news |author=Agence France-Presse |author-link=Agence France-Presse |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/switzerland/10057627/Pink-Panther-thief-among-escapees-in-dramatic-prison-break.html|title=Pink Panther thief among escapees in dramatic prison break|work=The Telegraph|date=14 May 2013|access-date=16 April 2015}}
*{{cite
*{{cite podcast |host=Natalia Antelava |title=Infamous International: The Pink Panthers Story |publisher=Exactly Right |date=14 September 2023 |url=http://example.org |access-date=27 September 2023}}
[[Category:Jewel thieves]]
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