Nobody Does Thieving Better Than the Pink Panthers

Interpol's annual Pink Panther conference (Photo courtesy of Interpol; all other photos were taken by the authors)

There are plenty of theories about how the Pink Panthers were formed. The international network of jewel thieves – named by Interpol after one group of Panthers mimicked a theft from an Inspector Clouseau film – is thought to be made up of mostly Serbians and Montenegrins, which is maybe why one of those theories states that the organisation was formed by Serbian militants during the Yugoslav Wars of the early-90s.

The story goes that a number of the network's founding fathers belonged to the Arkan Tigers, a paramilitary group controlled by Serbian career criminal “Arkan” and blamed for massacres in Bosnia. After meeting in the militia, they supposedly went on a thieving rampage through Europe, ploughing the money made from their stolen goods back into their compatriots’ fight. Since those early days the network are believed to have conducted 370 heists, nabbing some €360 million in jewels.

Of course, this is mostly speculation at best – it’s hard to say anything too definitive about the secretive organisation. But one thing that everyone agrees on is that they’re a highly organised, highly professional group of individuals. Thought to be dispersed throughout 35 different countries, the network is so prolific that Interpol has even created a special task force in their honour, which meets at a dedicated conference every year to exchange information, coordinate actions and discuss how best to deal with the fabled Pink Panthers.

In Greece, officers at the Property Crimes Unit (YDEZI) have caught three groups of Panthers since 2007. The most recent arrests were on the 3rd of March, when they apprehended four Serbian men, who, in the past year, have broken into 30 stores, most of them jewellery shops.

Some of the stolen items recovered by YDEZI after the recent Pink Panthers arrest

We spoke to George Papasifakis, a YDEZI deputy involved in the arrest, while we looked over the Panthers’ recovered spoils. Piles of gold watches, jewellery and mobile phones are still scattered along tables in the YDEZI headquarters, waiting to be claimed by their owners. Among the evidence gathered by the police is the battering ram used by Panthers in “difficult” cases.

“We have mutual respect for each other,” Papasifakis said. “We ‘appreciate’ the way they work – their organisation, speed and their skill at evading us. But when we catch them, they too admit that we do a good job.”

Papasifakis has been in charge of investigating Pink Panther groups active in Greece for the past few years, and much of the credit when it comes to the recent arrests can be awarded to him and his experienced team of investigators.

Stolen phones recovered by YDEZI after the recent Pink Panthers arrest

“All those arrested in Greece had fought in the war in former Yugoslavia, and this is one of the ways they relate to each other,” said Papasifakis, before explaining what he and his team have discovered about Pink Panther operations. “The criminal organisation has a common modus operandi that involves three stages: preparation, penetration and escape.

"Initially, the Panthers perform surveillance of the place by pretending to be customers. They then steal cars from the 90s that don’t have electronic anti-theft systems installed, using impromptu passe-partout keys – known as ‘Polish keys’ – which, by the by, is their signature move. And finally, using the ram-raiding method, they break into the shops.

“They’ve also used other methods to get into shops. On other occasions they’ve used straps, wires or climbing ropes to tie the doors, then they normally dump the cars and escape on motorcycles, having snatched expensive watches and jewellery.”

Stolen watches recovered by YDEZI after the recent Pink Panthers arrest

As much as Papasifakis and his team have uncovered, trying to define the Panthers’ methodology to a point is problematic, as there’s no central control structure handing down orders of how things should be done. Unlike many crime syndicates, with the leader at the top of a power pyramid, Pink Panthers operate in cells that go about their business independently from one another – much like al-Qaeda and its various international affiliates.

That said, every Pink Panther robbery has its similarities – the primary one being that once they enter a shop or a jewellers, they know exactly where to go and exactly what to do. The average Pink Panther robbery takes up to 60 seconds; they decide what they want in advance and get out as quickly as they came in.

I asked Papasifakis how new members are indoctrinated. “Nobody really knows,” he answered. “Someone is definitely moving the strings on the ground in Serbia, and someone is in charge of initiating and educating the younger members – some members who have yet to be arrested pass on their expertise to others. Many wonder whether there’s an element of patriotism to the whole thing, but no one can answer with confidence. In my opinion, it’s more likely that they influence each other, imitating one another and learning the tricks of the trade.”

Evidence recovered by YDEZI after the recent Pink Panthers arrest

The various Panther members all seem to take the same approach to their robberies: “They prefer to be sober to ensure they have complete control over their movements,” said Papasifakis. “And they never carry guns during a break-in, either. Generally, they try to minimise risk by stealing cars from different neighbourhoods, discarding their mobile phones and generally by leading a quiet life.

"Only the first group [that we caught in 2007] ‘showed off’ – the members stayed in lavish hotels in Glyfada [a wealthy neighbourhood in southern Athens], moved around in expensive rented cars and spent a lot of money on their appearance and activities.”

That particular case was widely covered by the Greek press at the time thanks to the fact that Olia Cirkovic – a female Serbian basketball player who’d played for a popular Greek team in the 90s – had participated in the robbery. The “spider-woman”, as she was dubbed after the raid, was in charge of casing the site before the robbery took place, and would then complete the job with her partners. She popped up again in the press when she escaped from Korydallos prison in 2011, before being apprehended four months later.

A flyer for this year's Interpol Pink Panthers conference among stolen items recovered in the recent YDEZI arrests.

The Panthers caught in March of this year were far more wary than Cirkovic and her partners. According to Papasifakis, the group had gone to great lengths to avoid being identified and captured. They used fake passports, fake ID cards and fake driving licenses, and communicated with each other using "ghost phones" – mobile phones registered under fake names.

With all of this protection in place, I asked Papasifakis how his team had managed to track the Panthers down. “No crime is perfect,” he said. “We keep a close eye on them. They’re bound to make a mistake, and it’s our duty to be there when that happens. During our most recent investigation, one of the perpetrators had a document with a photo and his personal information on it. The photo was real but the name on the document was fake. And we started to look into it… The main thing is to know what it is you’re looking for. We’ve studied the group for a long time and we have a good idea of what to look for now. From there on, we sit tight, waiting for the right moment to make simultaneous arrests in the area.

“Usually they won’t admit to anything on record. Even when we say we have incriminating evidence linking them to 10, 20 or 30 cases, they usually reply: ‘You may as well have, but our code of honour won’t allow us to say anything.’ This is worthy of some respect,” admitted Papasifakis.

Before putting down the phone, I asked the deputy whether he thinks his team have won the battle against Pink Panthers – if the recent capture might put them off trying to bust into any more Athens jewellery stores. “We may have already caught three groups, but we’re under no illusion that they’re going to disappear,” he answered. “They’re bound to make another appearance and, when they do, we’ll be here, with even more experience under our belts.”

@leftBi / @mapsara

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