‘Pink Panthers’ arrests highlight role of close police cooperation

Interpol has praised the benefits of police closely cooperating against transnational crime following the arrests in Paris of two suspected key members of the Pink Panthers, an international gang of jewel thieves.
Interpol set up an international Pink Panthers cell in July 2007 to coordinate the worldwide campaign across its 187-strong membership against the group, and executive director of police services, Jean-Michel Louboutin, said that the latest arrests demonstrated the importance of sharing vital police data in the face of transnational crime.
“The arrests are a clear example of the results which can be achieved through law enforcement around the world cooperating and sharing essential information for police on the ground to follow-up,” said Mr Louboutin.
“Interpol, therefore, congratulates the Swiss and French authorities, whose collaborative efforts led to the arrests of these two dangerous individuals.”
Close cooperation between Swiss and French police in the wake of a jewellery raid in Lausanne, Switzerland, led to the arrest of Nicolai Ivanovic, 36, and Zoran Kostic, 38, both of whom are suspected of being key members of the gang accused of carrying out a 100 million euro-series of jewel robberies over the past ten years.
Investigators hope last week’s operation in Paris by the anti-organised crime squad – the Brigade de répression du banditisme – will shed light on a series of armed smash-and-grab raids in Europe, Asia and the Gulf States. Interpol is planning to hold an operational meeting of police investigators from a number of countries to pool information arising from the arrests.
High-profile arrests of alleged Pink Panthers’ gang members in recent years include two alleged gang members – a Serb and a Bosnian – arrested in Monaco last year on suspicion of preparing a robbery. Another three Serb nationals were convicted in France in September and sentenced to between six and 15 years in jail.
In March, police in Cyprus arrested a man from Montenegro believed to belong to the gang of jewel thieves. Rifat Hadziahmetovic was arrested as he tried to leave Larnaca airport, travelling on a forged Bulgarian passport. It was on the basis of active information sent by Interpol to the authorities in Cyprus that an identity check by Cypriot police revealed that the man they were holding was in fact Hadziahmetovic, a suspected key member of the Pink Panthers and the subject of two Interpol Red Notices – meaning that he was on the organisation’s international wanted persons list.