Pink Panthers arrested for robbing a jewelry store in central Athens

The Attica Police Department, the division for the investigation of crimes committed against life and property, announced the liquidation of the international criminal organization “Pink Panthers” (“Pink Panthers”).

As previously reported, on December 20, 2022, members of the organization committed an armed jewelry store robbery in Athensstealing 24 luxury watches worth about 135,000 euros.

During the police operation, which took place on the morning and afternoon of March 2, 2023, in the regions of Piraeus and Gerakas, two 35-year-old men were detained. During the searches carried out in the houses, as well as in their possession, among other things, the following were found and seized:

• 950 euros,
• 5 mobile phones, one of which is of great value,
• clothes and shoes used during the robbery,
• a wig and a pair of gloves
• motorcycle helmet,
• 4 cartridges from a carbine,
• electronic balance,
• a package with a narcotic substance, presumably cocaine, with a total weight of 6.9 grams.

According to ΕΛΑΣ, data on three more members of the criminal organization have been established. Five identified members of the group (one Greek citizen and four foreigners) have been prosecuted for the creation of a criminal organization, robbery, aggravated theft, and violation of weapons laws.

As it turned out as a result of the investigation, the organization was a local cell of an international criminal organization “Pink Panthers”.

The gangs, according to police, are international gangs targeting jewelry stores. Criminals commit robberies using the “instant raid” method, or burglary using the “ramming” method. They act “professionally”, led by a person with extensive experience in a particular activity. Bandits roam freely across countries with forged or falsified documents, taking special precautions during all their attacks. Robbers use the tactic of pre-surveilling the store they are targeting days before the raid, reports naftemporiki.gr.

During the robbery of a jewelry boutique in the center of Athens, during preparation, the following actions were taken:

• two powerful motorcycles were stolen,
• the necessary tools were purchased (a gun, a hammer, masks to hide facial features).

As it became known, the robbers stayed in the apartment, which was rented for several days on a short-term rental platform. The apartment in Athens was used as a “base station”. The Pink Panthers used cars that did not belong to them to move around the city before and after the robbery, and three of them entered Greece and remained there for the necessary period of time to carry out the robbery and soon left Greece, immediately after it was committed.

A foreigner 47 years old before the robbery stole 2 motorcycles, which were subsequently used as a means of criminal activity. He also smashed windows and shop windows with a hammer, and stole expensive watches. This individual is an active member of the Pink Panthers, a criminal group with connections across Europe that helped sell stolen watches to an extensive network of recipients in different countries to avoid detection and arrest.

The 35-year-old foreigner, permanently residing in Greece, was a link between citizens and foreigners, was involved in motorcycle thefts, and also rented accommodation in which foreigners who came from abroad stayed. During the robbery, he remained outside the store, watching the area, and then helped the 47-year-old man escape from Attica. He is also an active member of the Pink Panthers criminal group with connections both in Greece and elsewhere in Europe.

A 48-year-old foreigner attacked a store security guard and immobilized him on the floor so that he would not interfere with the robbery.

A 35-year-old citizen threatened a store employee and a private security guard with a gun, giving them orders in Greek so that it was considered that the crime was committed by local criminals, diverting the attention of the investigation and prosecutors. The man arrived (and fled) at the scene of the robbery on one of the stolen motorcycles.

The 63-year-old foreigner acted as a “Trojan horse” of the organization to infiltrate his accomplices into the store, because, using the image of an elderly disabled person, he managed to convince a security officer to keep the store door open longer, as a result of which his accomplices entered the store.

According to ΕΛΑΣ, the 47-year-old, 48-year-old and 63-year-old criminals entered the country for the sole purpose of committing a robbery, and left almost immediately after.

In the spring of 2022, a ROLEX watch stolen during an armed robbery in Denmark in 2017 was discoveredwhen a woman brought them to a company store in Athens for repairs. Because their serial number was on the list of stolen items, the shop technician identified them as one of 50 expensive watches stolen from a jewelry store in Copenhagen in November 2017.

Media reported that the robbers entered the store as customers, then, at gunpoint and pepper spray, they immobilized employees. At the same time, the criminals sprayed an irritating substance in the face of one of the employees when he tried to press the panic button. The criminals seized a total of 50 expensive watches from various manufacturers and fled the scene.

The robbery is also attributed to an international network of jewel thieves. “Pink Panthers», and the total cost of robberies is estimated at almost a million euros. A ROLEX watch discovered in Athens is worth 85,000 euros.

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