A suspected member of the “Pink Panther” gang of jewel thieves linked to heists in the UAE and Bahrain is being extradited to Japan from Spain to face charges of stealing a $2m diamond tiara in Tokyo three years ago.
Montenegro national Rifat Hadziahmetovic, 42, is suspected of stealing the tiara and other jewellery from a Tokyo store during a 2007 raid.
He was arrested in Cyprus in March last year, after attempting to travel on a forged Bulgarian passport and was later extradited to Spain in connection with a 2008 robbery in Tenerife.
The Pink Panther gang has been linked to a string of high-profile heists, including a 2007 ‘smash-and-grab’ raid on Graff jewellery store in Dubai’s Wafi Mall.
Video footage of the burglary showed a seven-strong gang driving two cars into the mall, before battering down the glass facades of the store and making off with jewellery worth some $4.1m.
According to Interpol, gang members including Hadziahmetovic are also suspected of participating in robberies in Bahrain, though no specific theft was mentioned.
Named after the 1963 movie, The Pink Panther, the group won its tag in the British press after members hid a diamond ring worth nearly $1.5m in a pot of face cream. A similar tactic was used in The Pink Panther film.
It is believed to have more than 200 members, and is famous for its speedy robberies lasting less than four minutes.
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