The same reports claim that the gang would often use stolen cars to smash through the storefronts of jewelry stores and then they would quickly remove any valuables before escaping in a separate stolen vehicle.
Named after The Pink Panther series of crime comedy films, Pink Panthers is the name given by Interpol to an international jewel thief network, which is responsible for some of the most audacious thefts in criminal history. They are responsible for what have been termed some of the most glamorous heists ever, and one criminologist even described their crimes as "artistry". They have targeted several countries and continents, and include Japan's most successful robbery ever amongst their thefts. A film documentary based upon their thefts, Smash & Grab, was released in 2013.
Some law enforcement agencies suspect that the group is responsible for over US$ 500 million in bold robberies in Dubai, Switzerland, Japan, France, Liechtenstein, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and Monaco. Law enforcement suspect their involvement in the robbery of the jewellery store Harry Winston in Paris, on December 9, 2008. The thieves escaped with more than € 80 million worth of jewellery.
Interpol has said it estimates that there are several hundred thieves in the group, and that many come from Serbia. However, other sources say the gang is suspected of having at least sixty members, around thirty of whom are thought to be from Montenegro. Several gang members are former soldiers with violent pasts. They are fluent in many different languages and possess passports which have been given to others.
In 1993, 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 central London in the United Kingdom. The thieves hid the diamond in a jar containing face cream, mimicking an act seen in the film The Return of the Pink Panther. In May 2005, Graff, a diamond specialist in London, was targeted by Pink Panthers and lost a total of £1 million in jewellery. Three men were suspected of being behind the theft; one was in possession of a firearm. Graff had been targeted in 2002 and lost £23 million on that occasion, £ 3 million of which was recovered two years later. One of the thieves was sentenced to fifteen years in prison in July 2004.
In the space of six years during the twenty-first century, the Pink Panthers robbed 120 stores in twenty different countries. Dubai, Geneva, Japan, London, Denmark, Monaco, Paris, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and the United States have all been targeted by the gang. Their attention to detail has ensured this 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.
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. In that heist, Rifat Hadziahmetovic and Radovan Jelusic sprayed tear gas at three saleswomen then took a tiara, necklaces, and other jewels and fled the store.
The gang is also known for its daring escapes and attempts to break into their chosen store. They robbed a jewellery store in Saint-Tropez in 2005 wearing T-shirts emblazoned with flowery designs then made their escape on a speed boat. Prior to one 2008 robbery of Graff jewellers in Dubai, eight gang members drove a pair of limousines through a window, taking watches and other items worth a total of £ 8 million. In a further robbery, four gang members dressed themselves up as women in December 2008 before breaking into France's Harry Winston jewellers in Paris. The gang escaped from the store with items worth over US$ 100 million (£ 60 million). There is growing speculation that the US$ 65 million heist on 6 August 2009 of an exclusive London jewellery store was the work of the same group. A key element in the speculation is that the men who looted Graff Diamonds on New Bond Street made no effort to hide their faces, suggesting that they had been able to alter their looks with "Mission Impossible" style prosthetic make-up.
In 2013, the gang was suspected to have struck again when a man wearing a ball cap and a scarf covering his face broke into the Carlton Hotel in Cannes and made off with US$ 136 million worth of diamonds, gems, and jewelry being stored by the Leviev diamond house for an exhibit (see Carlton Intercontinental Hotel heist). Nice-Matin speculated that this may have been the most costly jewelry theft in history. Source Wikipedia
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