The Pink Panthers are an international jewel thief network responsible for a number of robberies and thefts described as some of the most audacious in the history of organized crime. The organization has roughly 800 core members, many of whom are ex-soldiers with extensive military and paramilitary backgrounds. Both women and men play an equal part in the structure of the organization. The organization's membership mostly consists of Serbian, Montenegrin and other former Yugoslavian state citizens, believed to be remnants of the Bosnian War who have made criminal use of their militaristic skills. The organization was named by Interpol after The Pink Panther series of crime comedy films.
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". 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.
Some law enforcement agencies suspect that the group is responsible for over US$500 million in robberies of gold and diamonds from the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Japan, France, Liechtenstein, Germany, United States of America, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Spain, Monaco, Austria, Australia, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Belgium. Law enforcement authorities suspect their involvement in the heist of the jewellery store Harry Winston in Paris on 9 December 2008. The thieves escaped with more than €80 million worth of jewellery.
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. The thieves hid the diamond in a jar of 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 15 years in prison in July 2004.
In the space of six years during the 21st century, the Pink Panthers robbed 120 stores in 20 countries. Japan, United Kingdom, Denmark, Monaco, France, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and the United States have all been targeted by the gang, 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.
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.
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. Prior to one 2008 robbery of Graff jewellers in Dubai, eight gang members drove a pair of Audis through a window, taking watches and other items worth a total of £8 million. In a further robbery in December 2008, four gang members dressed themselves up as women before breaking into Harry Winston jewellers in Paris. The gang escaped from the store with items worth over US$100 million (£60 million).
Speculation also exists as to certain other robberies having been conducted by the gang; in the August 2009 robbery of Graff Diamonds in London 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.
In 2013, the gang was suspected to have struck again when a man wearing a baseball cap and a scarf covering his face broke into the 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, a leading newspaper in the region, speculated that this may have been the most costly jewellery theft in history.