Pink Panthers: Difference between revisions

{{distinguish|PinkpantheressPinkPantheress}}

{{moreUse citationsdmy neededdates|date=AugustMarch 20162024}}

| years active = 2003–present2001–present

| ethnic makeup = Majority [[SerbsSerbia]]ns and [[Montenegro|Montenegrins]]<ref>{{cite webmagazine |last=Samuels |first=David |title=The Band of Jewel Thieves Who Robbed for Revenge |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/04/12/the-pink-panthers |websitemagazine=The New Yorker |language=en-us}}</ref>

| allies = [[Serbian Mafia]] YACS Crime Group, [[Russian Mafia]], [[Italian Mafia]], [[UkrainianRomanian mafia]].

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=latimes.com[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=2009-07-29 July 2009 |access-date=2013-09-19 September 2013}}</ref> The organization has roughly 800 core members, many of whom are ex-soldiers with extensive military and paramilitary backgrounds.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=Pink Panthers: Daring heists rake in half-a-billion dollars |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pink-panthers-gang-of-diamond-thieves/ |website=www.cbsnews.com |date=31 August 2014 |language=en}}</ref> Both women and men play an equal part in the structure of the organization.<ref name=":0" /> The organization's membership mostly consists of [[Serbia]]n, and [[Montenegro|Montenegrin]] and other formercitizens, Yugoslavianwho state citizens,are believed to be remnants of the [[Bosnian War]] whoveterans have made criminalmaking use of their militaristicmilitary experience for criminal skillsactivity.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chiu |first1=Richard |title=Pink Panthers: Europe's mysterious gang of thieves |url=https://www.jewellermagazine.com/Article2/8486/Pink-Panthers-Europes-mysterious-gang-of-thieves |website=jewellermagazine.com |date=15 August 2019}}</ref> The organization was named by [[Interpol]] after ''[[The Pink Panther (film series)|The Pink Panther]]'' series of crime comedy films.

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 different countries.<ref name="'Jewel gangster' held in Monaco"/> [[Japan]], [[LondonUnited Kingdom]], [[Denmark]], [[Monaco]], [[ParisFrance]], [[Switzerland]], the [[United Arab Emirates]] and the [[United States]] have all been targeted by the gang,<ref name="Three suspected Pink Panther gang members arrested in Monaco"/><ref name="'Jewel gangster' held in Monaco"/> with the attention to detail of the heists ensuring a high rate of success. Before robbing a jewellery store in [[Biarritz]], the gang covered a nearby bench in fresh paint to deter anyone from sitting on it and seeing them in action.<ref name="Three suspected Pink Panther gang members arrested in Monaco"/>

Speculation also exists as to certain other robberies having been conducted by the gang; in the August 2009 [[Graff Diamonds robbery|robbery]] of Graff Diamonds]] in London is speculated to have been conducted by the gang, a key element in the speculation being that the robbers made no attempt to hide their faces, suggesting that they had already altered their appearances with prosthetic makeup.<ref>{{cite web|last=Treptow|first=Cornelia|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/International/story?id=8327555&page=1|title=Graff Jewel Heist, Were Pink Panthers Thieves Behind Record-Breaking Gem Robbery?|publisher=Abcnews.go.com|date=14 August 2009|access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref>

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{{who|date=June]]'', 2021}}a leading newspaper in the region, speculated that this may have been the most costly jewellery theft in history.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-cannes-riviera-jewel-heist-20130729,0,1824610.story|title=$136 million French Riviera jewel heist may be biggest in history|first=Carol|last=Williams|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=29 July 2013|access-date=19 April 2015}}</ref>

One suspect in a June 2007 [[Ginza]] heist, aan [[Montenegrins (ethnic group)|Montenegrin[[Bosniak]]- Montenegrin national named Rifat Hadžiahmetović, who had been travelling on a forged [[Bulgaria]]n passport, was arrested in March 2009 by [[Cyprus|Cypriot]] police at [[Larnaca International Airport]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Deborah|last=Seward|title='Pink Panther' suspect held in Cyprus|date=28 March 2009|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/pink-panther-suspect-held-in-cyprus-1656054.html|work=[[The Independent]]|access-date=28 March 2009|location=London, UK}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Inspector Clouseau gets his man|date=28 March 2009|publisher=Reuters|url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/03282009/news/worldnews/inspector_clouseau_gets_his_man_161682.htm|work=[[New York Post]]|access-date=28 March 2009}}</ref> Hadžiahmetović was due to serve a sentence in Cyprus for travelling on a forged passport before being extradited to Spain.<ref>{{cite news|title='Pink Panther' suspect to serve Cyprus jail term|date=21 April 2009|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/pink-panther-suspect-to-serve-cyprus-jail-term-1671815.html|work=[[The Independent]]|access-date=21 April 2009|location=London, UK}}</ref> He was extradited from Spain to Japan and, in September 2011, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.<ref>{{cite news|title='Pink Panther' fugitive in Tokyo jail for Ginza heist|date=15 August 2010|publisher=Japan Times|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100815a3.html|work=[[Japan Times]]|access-date=14 August 2010}}</ref> His accomplice, Radovan Jelušić, was arrested in Italy in 2010 over a separate crime, then was extradited to Montenegro to stand trial on 18 May 2012.<ref name="japantimes1"/>

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, <ref name="Three suspected Pink Panther gang members arrested in Monaco"/> suspected to be a senior member of the Pink Panthers. Mikić has been on the run since 2005, after breaking out of jail via a ladder whilst other people fired machine guns at the prison.<ref name="Three suspected Pink Panther gang members arrested in Monaco">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/monaco/5586122/Three-suspected-Pink-Panther-gang-members-arrested-in-Monaco.html|title=Three suspected Pink Panther gang members arrested in Monaco|date=20 June 2009|access-date=22 June 2009|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|location=London, UK|first=Peter|last=Allen}}</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 reconnoiteringcasing a jewellery store robbery. Patrolling police were prompted to question them due to their wearing wigs. The two men fled, the 36 year-old suspect firing at and injuring a police officer during the pursuit that followed. Both were arrested and led police to the arrest of the third person, 43 year-old Serbian female [[Olivera Ćirković|Olivera Vasić Ćirković]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.in.gr%2Fgreece%2Farticle%2F%3Faid%3D1231186387|title=Two members of the "Pink Panthers" arrested in Athens|publisher=in.gr|date=14 March 2012|access-date=14 March 2012}}</ref> On 12 July 2012, Olivera escaped from Athens' prison in Athens when a man who entered the prison on the pretext of delivering art supplies knocked out a guard and stole her keys.<ref>{{cite web |title="Pink Panther" Female Prisoner Vanishes into Thin Air |url=http://greece.greekreporter.com/2012/07/13/pink-panther-female-prisoner-vanishes-into-thin-air/ |website=greekreporter.com |access-date=27 September 2020}}</ref>

On 3 June 2015, six members of gang has beenwere arrested in [[Zagreb]], [[Croatia]] while they were preparing for a heist with big amount explosives, weapons, ammunitionmunitions and two cars identicalsimilar to carsthose fordriven by security purposesforces in [[Croatia]].; Threethree membersof the arrested were Serbs, two Bosnian, and one Montenegrin. Names of the arrested Serbs arewere Saša Antonić, Aleksandar Tasić iand Dejan Kostić.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jarak |first1=Andrija |title=Andrija Jarak otkriva pozadinu djelovanja zloglasne bande razbijene u Zagrebu |url=https://dnevnik.hr/vijesti/hrvatska/u-zagrebu-sprijeceno-krvoprolice---387945.html |website=dnevnik.hr |publisher=Dnevnik.hr |access-date=24 June 2021 |language=hr |date=3 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=ONI SU POKUŠALI PLJAČKU VEKA U HRVATSKOJ: Objavljena imena Srba koji su uhapšeni u Zagrebu! |url=https://www.telegraf.rs/vesti/1596786-oni-su-pokusali-pljacku-veka-u-hrvatskoj-objavljena-imena-srba-koji-su-uhapseni-u-zagrebu |website=telegraf.rs |publisher=Telegraf.rs |access-date=24 June 2021|language=sr |date=4 June 2015}}</ref>

*{{cite newsmagazine|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/04/12/the-pink-panthers?currentPage=all|title=The Pink Panthers: A tale of diamonds, thieves, and the Balkans|first=David|last=Samuels|workmagazine=[[The New Yorker]]|access-date=16 April 2015}}