Man arrested in ‘Pink Panther’ robbery probe

POLICE in Cyprus have arrested a man from Montenegro believed to belong to a gang of international jewel thieves dubbed the ‘Pink Panthers’ that is suspected of carrying out high-profile thefts around the globe, the international police organisation Interpol said yesterday.

Rifat Hadziahmetovic of Montenegro was arrested on March 18 while travelling on a forged Bulgarian passport as he tried to enter Larnaca airport in Cyprus, Cypriot police said.

The Pink Panthers are believed to be mainly from countries in the Balkans. They are the prime suspects in a series of brazen jewel thefts worth more than $150 million (€113m) over the past decade in Europe, Asia and the Persian Gulf.