Post by Clouseau on Mar 30, 2009 15:42:26 GMT
www.pr-inside.com/interpol-pink-panther-jewel-suspect-arrested-r1146718.htm
Interpol: 'Pink Panther' jewel suspect arrested
By Deborah Seward
Associated Press
PARIS: Police in Cyprus have arrested a man from Montenegro believed to belong to a gang of jewel thieves dubbed the Pink Panthers that is suspected in a series of brazen robberies in jewelry shops for the rich around the globe, the international police organization Interpol said Friday.
Rifat Hadziahmetovic of Montenegro, a tiny country on the Adriatic Sea, was arrested March 18 while traveling on a forged Bulgarian passport as he tried to leave Cyprus from Larnaca airport, Cyprus police spokesman Christos Andreou said. Police do not know how he entered the island or how long he was there, Andreou said, adding that Hadziahmetovic was refusing to cooperate.
The Pink Panthers are believed to be mainly from countries in the Balkans. They are the prime suspects in a series of jewel thefts worth over $150 million over the past decade in Europe, Asia and the Persian Gulf.
Hadzhiahmetovic originally was detained on charges of traveling on a forged document, but an identity check by Cypriot police with Interpol revealed that he was the subject of an Interpol "Red Notice," which put him on the agency's international wanted list.
Hadziahmetovic was then arrested on charges of his alleged involvement in a 2008 robbery on the Spanish island of Tenerife, Interpol said in a statement from its headquarters in Lyon, France.
Hadziahmetovic appeared in a Cypriot court Friday, the Cypriot police spokesman said. His detention in jail was extended until March 31st, when he will appear in court for the start of extradition proceedings to Spain.
Hadziahmetovic is suspected of participating in other armed robberies in Bahrain, Japan and the United Arab Emirates.
"This arrest is yet again an example of the results which can be achieved by law enforcement around the world sharing information through Interpol which can then be followed up by police on the ground," said Interpol's executive director of police services, Jean-Michel Louboutin, in a statement.
Louboutin commended the "thorough" work of Cypriot police and said that Hadziahmetovic had been identified from his fingerprints.
Some Pink Panther members already are serving time in jail, including three Serbs who were convicted in 2005 for a robbery in Japan, which included a necklace worth $27 million. Others, however, are still at large.
The Pink Panthers are a prime suspect in a daring robbery not long before Christmas 2008 at the glamorous Harry Winston jewelry shop on one of Paris' fanciest streets. The thieves walked into the store and made off with $108 million worth of jewels.
By Deborah Seward
Associated Press
PARIS: Police in Cyprus have arrested a man from Montenegro believed to belong to a gang of jewel thieves dubbed the Pink Panthers that is suspected in a series of brazen robberies in jewelry shops for the rich around the globe, the international police organization Interpol said Friday.
Rifat Hadziahmetovic of Montenegro, a tiny country on the Adriatic Sea, was arrested March 18 while traveling on a forged Bulgarian passport as he tried to leave Cyprus from Larnaca airport, Cyprus police spokesman Christos Andreou said. Police do not know how he entered the island or how long he was there, Andreou said, adding that Hadziahmetovic was refusing to cooperate.
The Pink Panthers are believed to be mainly from countries in the Balkans. They are the prime suspects in a series of jewel thefts worth over $150 million over the past decade in Europe, Asia and the Persian Gulf.
Hadzhiahmetovic originally was detained on charges of traveling on a forged document, but an identity check by Cypriot police with Interpol revealed that he was the subject of an Interpol "Red Notice," which put him on the agency's international wanted list.
Hadziahmetovic was then arrested on charges of his alleged involvement in a 2008 robbery on the Spanish island of Tenerife, Interpol said in a statement from its headquarters in Lyon, France.
Hadziahmetovic appeared in a Cypriot court Friday, the Cypriot police spokesman said. His detention in jail was extended until March 31st, when he will appear in court for the start of extradition proceedings to Spain.
Hadziahmetovic is suspected of participating in other armed robberies in Bahrain, Japan and the United Arab Emirates.
"This arrest is yet again an example of the results which can be achieved by law enforcement around the world sharing information through Interpol which can then be followed up by police on the ground," said Interpol's executive director of police services, Jean-Michel Louboutin, in a statement.
Louboutin commended the "thorough" work of Cypriot police and said that Hadziahmetovic had been identified from his fingerprints.
Some Pink Panther members already are serving time in jail, including three Serbs who were convicted in 2005 for a robbery in Japan, which included a necklace worth $27 million. Others, however, are still at large.
The Pink Panthers are a prime suspect in a daring robbery not long before Christmas 2008 at the glamorous Harry Winston jewelry shop on one of Paris' fanciest streets. The thieves walked into the store and made off with $108 million worth of jewels.