Belgrade: Three Serb members of the infamous
"Pink Panther" ring of thieves were convicted on Friday of Japan's
biggest-ever jewel heist, which nabbed treasures including a
USD 27-million diamond necklace.
A Belgrade court found the three guilty in their second
trial of stealing USD 31.5 million worth of jewels from an
upscale shop in Tokyo in March 2004. The jewels have never
been found.
Aleksandar Radulovic was sentenced to six years and nine
months in prison and Djordje Rasovic received six years and
three months, while Snezana Panajotovic got two years and ten
months in jail.
The two men, Rasovic and Radulovic, used force during the
robbery, and Panajotovic held guard in front of the jewelry
shop, Judge Milena Rasic of Serbia's organized crime court
said.
The court has said the three were part of the "Pink
Panther" ring named after the 1963 film starring Peter Sellers
as the bungling Inspector Clouseau. The group is believed to
be mainly from the Balkans, and is suspected of several jewel
thefts worth more than USD 150 million in Europe, Asia and the
Persian Gulf.
PTI
First Published: Friday, December 18, 2009, 23:33