“Pink Panthers”: This is how the two Serbs robbed the jewelry stores in the center of Athens

Two Serbs aged 50 and 53, gang members were arrested on Wednesday in the center of Athens for robbing jewelry stores.

A case file was filed against them for – as the case may be – theft by complicity, by continuation and by profession, accepting and disposing of proceeds of crime and dishonesty.

According to EL.AS., it is for members of the wider transnational criminal group “Pink Panthers”which presents international actionmainly targeting jewelry stores, in which they commit thefts or robberies, applying methodology and ways of acting according to the skills, techniques and abilities of their members who are located like nuclei in each country.

{https://twitter.com/iEidiseisGR/status/1783763807543722199}

As it emerged from the investigation, the defendants, at least since December 2023, had formed a gang and were committing thefts in jewelry stores using the “riff-raff” method.

They used forged or falsified documents, while driving vehicles that either had foreign license plates or were registered to people with a clean criminal record, in order to avoid detection.

In terms of their method of action, the defendants, after identifying their target stores, carried out surveillance of them and then drew up a relevant plan of action.

They moved on foot or by car, which they parked at a sufficient distance in order to avoid any connection with their criminal activity.

After the perpetrators gained access to adjacent abandoned-empty buildings, they opened a hole in the wall leading to the jewelry stores. In fact, they placed pieces of cloth on the floor in order to minimize any noise from the pieces of the wall that would fall.

The 50-year-old would enter the jewelry stores, crawling, so that the motion detectors would not be activated, and after removing the gold jewelry, he would return to the adjacent buildings and escape.

After searches of the property and their homes, among others, the following were found and confiscated:

• Lots of burglary tools,
• -3- watches,
• Jewelry,
• 190-euro
• fake driver’s license,
• -3- mobile phones and
• Their personal items.
• An additional motorcycle and car used for their transportation were confiscated.

From the preliminary investigation so far, -2- cases of burglaries in jewelry stores in the center of Athens have been discovered, while the investigation to ascertain the full scope of their criminal activity continues.

It is noted that the 53-year-old strongly resisted his arrest, while the defendants have in the past concerned the authorities for similar crimes.

The arrested were taken to the competent Prosecutor.