The thieves who stole priceless jewellery from the Louvre are reviving recollections of an audacious gang that stole $500 million in valuables in a collection of daring heists that occurred over practically twenty years.
The Pink Panthers focused jewellery shops and museums in Europe and Asia and carried out a few of the largest heists in historical past, raking in half a billion {dollars} price of stolen items between the early Nineties and mid-2010s.
There is no such thing as a proof that the theft on the Louvre is related to the Pink Panthers, however the brazen nature of the theft was much like these carried out by the gang.
Who’re the Pink Panthers?
The Pink Panthers are a community of loosely organized groups, Interpol secretary basic Ron Noble instructed “60 Minutes” in 2014. There are tons of of gang members related to the group. Most have been from Jap Europe, Noble stated, and plenty of fought within the Serbian Particular Forces throughout the Bosnian Wars within the mid-Nineties. The gang has no organized chain of command, Noble stated, and makes use of consultants in fields like safecracking, carjacking and extra.
The Pink Panthers deliver navy self-discipline and professional planning to their thefts, Noble stated, usually doing weeks of surveillance and preparation earlier than hitting their goal. The assaults are carried out by small groups, usually in beneath a minute, and have well-planned getaways, Noble stated. As soon as on the run, the gang rapidly crosses worldwide borders, usually utilizing faux passports.
CBS Information
One audacious theft noticed the Pink Panthers drive vehicles right into a mall in Dubai earlier than smashing into a jewellery retailer, stealing handfuls of diamonds and driving out — all in 45 seconds. They’re answerable for the biggest artwork theft in Japanese historical past and the largest jewel heist in Britain. Within the latter incident, the thieves made off with $40 million of valuable stones, together with some hidden in a jar of chilly cream. In San-Tropez, France, they escaped by speedboat after stealing $3 million price of jewellery. In 2008, the Pink Panthers stole priceless work from an artwork museum in Zurich, Switzerland. The artworks have been price a mixed $163 million, making it the biggest artwork theft in European historical past.
Legislation enforcement has been chasing the gang for years, Noble stated. Interpol has recognized 800 members of the Pink Panthers utilizing photographs, fingerprints and DNA, Noble stated. A number of gang members have been taken into custody, together with one arrest in 2024. A few of their stolen items — together with the work taken from Zurich — have been recovered. Nonetheless, diamonds and jewellery are tough to get better, for the reason that gems could be recut or became completely different items.
Theft on the Louvre
The thieves on the Louvre labored in broad daylight whereas vacationers have been already contained in the famed museum. The thieves entered the museum with a crane-like elevate, then smashed glass circumstances within the Apollon Gallery, residence of the French crown jewels. They fled the scene on bikes, a museum spokesperson stated.
Remon Haazen / Getty Pictures 
The museum was closed after the brazen heist, and no accidents have been reported. French officers stated the theft was carried out in simply 4 minutes, and referred to the thieves as “professionals.” Criminologist Alain Bauer instructed CBS Information that the thieves left behind DNA, which might be matched to info in regulation enforcement databases if the robbers are recognized to police. French police stated provides together with an influence noticed, gloves, a walkie-talkie and a can of gasoline have been additionally discovered. Bauer stated the proof will assist police with their investigation.
“We’ll catch them,” stated Bauer, who’s a professor of criminology at France’s Nationwide Conservatory of Arts and Crafts. “I do not assume we are going to seize the jewels.”
The thieves took 9 items from the jewellery assortment of Napoleon III. One merchandise — the crown of Empress Eugénie, manufactured from gold, emerald and diamonds — was discovered apparently dropped exterior the museum.
The opposite items stolen embody a pearl and diamond tiara with over 200 pearls and practically 2,000 diamonds, a gold corsage bow-shaped brooch with 1000’s of stones, a set of sapphire jewellery which will have as soon as belonged to Marie Antoinette, an emerald necklace and pair of earrings that Napoleon gave his second spouse as a marriage present, and a diamond-encrusted brooch.
The jewels have been of “inestimable worth,” in keeping with France’s inside minister and the museum. Regardless of their worth, the jewels have been apparently not in bolstered circumstances, artwork historian and former Louvre employee David Chanteranne instructed CBS Information correspondent Elizabeth Palmer. For functions of “historic accuracy,” the jewels have been offered of their authentic circumstances.
STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP by way of Getty Pictures 
Current thefts throughout Europe
There have been different notable heists at European museums in recent times. Thieves in Germany smashed into Dresden’s Inexperienced Vault museum in a single day in 2019 and stole over $120 million price of jewels. The robbers stated in courtroom that they used an axe to smash the circumstances and a fireplace extinguisher to cover their DNA. A number of the items they stole have been recovered, however have been broken. Others have by no means been discovered.
Hundreds of things have been found to have been stolen from the British Museum in 2023. The small items weren’t on show and have been largely used for analysis functions. An worker was fired and the museum stated they have been in search of authorized motion towards them. A number of the objects have been recovered.
In 2022, a gaggle of males broke into Germany’s Celtic and Roman Museum, in a heist that occurred in simply 9 minutes. Cables have been reduce at a close-by telecommunications hub, leaving the world with out communications networks. The thieves pried open the museum’s door, then smashed right into a show case to take tons of of gold cash that dated again to 100 B.C. They left the museum with out triggering any alarms.
Lennart Preiss/image alliance by way of Getty Pictures 
The boys have been arrested a number of months later. Three members have been convicted and handed jail sentences that ranged as much as 11 years, whereas a fourth was acquitted of involvement within the theft however convicted on different expenses. The treasure remains to be lacking and appeared to have been no less than partially melted down.
In 2020, a Van Gogh portray was stolen from a Dutch museum that was closed to stop the unfold of coronavirus. The portray was recovered in 2023, in keeping with the Smithsonian.
