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Here they come, the Pink Panthers
2009-10-12 18:17
The jewellers of Monaco, especially those situated in the 'Golden Square' area of Monte Carlo, are to be warned of the possible return of the Pink Panthers - an international gang of robbers mostly originating from the Balkan states, who specialize in attacking prestige jewellery stores throughout the world.
Despite extremely strict security measures put in place by the authorities over the years, the Pink Panthers have already struck twice in Monaco, during the summer of 2007.
Now, in order to prevent a repeat of such heists, the police have met with all the professional jewellers in the principality to inform them of the various techniniques used by this fearsome band.
During the presentation, store managers were able to watch a video taken by a surveillance camera in Zurich at the very moment of a violent hold-up. Additionally, a dossier containing photos of 70 presumed members of the gang was distributed to shopkeepers.
The Pink Panthers use a well-worn technique. Most often, an apparently stylish and refined couple spend several weeks 'preparing' a boutique for their accomplices. Speaking four to five languages, they make daily visits to their boutique of choice, pretending to be interested in the most valuable jewels and watches.
These 'scouts' note down the tiniest details: the sensitivity of detection devices to minute vibrations and movements; the precise location of cameras and alarms; and any slips of security such as leaving cabinets or jewel-cases open.
Before leaving, they study potential escape routes and calculate the probable time taken for the nearest police station to intervene. Phones and cars are then obtained to aid their accomplices in the robbery.
Then the second team comes along and does it all again - for real - before rapidly disappearing. Unlike the first, they are dressed in such a way as to blend into the background
It was the British police who gave the soubriquet to the gang, after finding in 2003 a blue-diamond ring worth £500,000 concealed in a pot of face cream - the same method famously used in the Pink Panther film comedy starring Peter Sellers and David Niven , directed by Blake Edwards.
Three Pink Panthers were intercepted recenlty in Monaco following an alert launched by retailers; and it's because of the success of those arrests that the police have decided to reinforce their current security arrangements.
What makes it all the more difficult is that there are thought to be 150-200 members of tne gang, all hailing from ex-Yugoslavia and all specializing in armed robberies of jewellery stores. They are thought to be behind no fewer than 110 notable robberies in Dubai, Geneva, Lichtenstein, London, Tokyo, Paris and St Tropez as well as Monaco, and their haul is estimated at more than €160m worth of jewellery over the course of a decade of activity.