“Detectives are trying to capture the “PINK PANTHERS”, a group of thieves named after the Pink Panther movies. These thieves have stolen some $500 MILLION WORTH OF JEWELS in 35 cities, including Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and London, England.”

National Geographic 5,000 Awesome Facts, fact # 10 on Famous Detectives to Investigate

The Pink Panthers are an “international jewel thief network responsible for a number of robberies and thefts”, described as the most “audacious in the history of organized crime.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Panthers# They engage in large, sophisticated scaled heists that involve high value items such as diamonds, jewelry, watches and occasionally artwork. They are recognized for their organization skills and the ability to maintain a low profile.

The Pink Panthers are responsible for about 370 heists. The one heist that got them their name was the one in 2003 at Graff Diamonds in London. Later, one of the men that was responsible for the heist, Milan Jovetic, was arrested. The police did a search of his house and found a blue diamond ring worth $750.000 in a bottle of face cream, reminiscent of a scene in one of Peter Seller’s movies, The Pink Panther. (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/04/12/the-pink-panthers)

They followed up with couple more high stakes heists. In Tokyo, 2004, they took a $33 million dollar diamond necklace. Three Serbian members were eventually arrested. It was the largest jewel heist in the history of Japan. (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/dec/18/serbians-convicted-japan-jewel-heist)

In Dubai, 2007, they rammed two Audi sedans into a Wafi shopping mall and ran off with $3.4 million in jewels. They rammed the first car backwards so the air bag was not engaged, and drove the other car straight through the crashed wall. The whole heist took 2 1/2 minutes.

The group supposedly is originated in Serbia and feature Bosnia war veterans with military backgrounds around 1990. There are approximately 800 core members, and an undetermined number of associates.

Only 3-5 members will do a singular heist. Not everyone in the organization know each other, and ranks are unclear. It’s also uncertain who the leader of this criminal group is, but the alleged leader is Dragon Mikic. He’s a Serbian national who has military training and experience. He escaped prison one time by scaling the wall and members of the Pink Panthers firing at guards with machine guns.

A documentary has been made regarding the Pink Panthers called Smash & Grab by Havana Marking in 2013. There are interviews with people associated with the gang, along with live footage of some of the heists.

The Pink Panthers are being investigated by the FBI for their worldwide heists. In 2013, The Guardian came out with an article in 2013 saying 189 Pink Panthers have been arrested, weakening the structure of the notorious gang. It is hard to say when and if they will attempt a jewel heist in the future.