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Two Croats, a Serb and a Bosnian, were arrested in February last year in Pregasona, and three of them were convicted yesterday for planning a spectacular robbery of a jewelry store.
As previously announced, this quartet was preparing to rob one or more goldsmiths in the center of Lugano. The news caused a sensation because the name of the gang, which was made up of former Balkan soldiers, is known for the spectacular robberies that were committed in jewelry stores around the world.
The preparations went on for months
Police monitored the Pink Panther group for months and managed to put a microphone in their car. This is how they learned of his plans for a robbery in the center of Lugano.
The indictment shows how precisely and meticulously they acted in preparation for the robbery. That is, they spied on the goldsmiths for days, organizing the rental of a suitable apartment near the border to hide after the robbery. They acquired fake weapons and plates in Milan. The three scooters with which they planned to escape after the planned robbery in Lugano, were rented in various places, including Zurich, while the van they wanted to take them to was rented in a rented box-type apartment.
The gang tested scooters multiple times, walked through downtown Lugano, experimented with the escape route, and visited specific jewelers on several occasions to understand how many people were working and how many safety devices were installed.
Even before the planned robbery in Lugano, the two thieves “inspected”, always in the same way, the jewelry store in Gstad. She was supposed to be next on the list of those who wanted to rob. The day they planned the robbery, the police arrested them.
After the arrest, the suspects were transferred to various prisons in Zurich.
The Zurich prosecutor is seeking prison terms of between 5 and a half and seven years for the three defendants, expulsion from Switzerland for 10 to 15 years. The expulsion must be entered in the Schengen Information System: the three will no longer be able to enter any country in the Schengen area.
Instead, the lawyers claimed that their clients were not members of the “Pink Panther,” but mere crime tourists. The lawyer asked for a two-year suspended sentence for the 39-year-old Croat, while defense lawyers for the 42-year-old Croat and the 44-year-old Serbian asked for acquittal. In court, the three, handcuffed, denied all the charges against them. A fourth gang member arrested in Pregasona will be tried separately, because he admitted the theft.
Convicted
The detained members of the “Pink Panther” were sentenced to five, five and seven years in prison for planning a robbery and other crimes. The court confirmed the prosecution’s request and two were banned from entering the Schengen countries for the next 10 years, and the third sentenced for 15 years.
It is a first instance verdict, to which convicted persons have the right to appeal.
Why the Pink Panther?
The gang’s name was given by English investigators after the 2003 London robbery: on that occasion, the police found a gemstone hidden in a face cream package, as in the 1963 movie “Pink Panther.”
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