A Serbian citizen, suspected of being linked to the “Pink Panthers” criminal group, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for the robbery of the luxury jewelry store “Breguet” in Düsseldorf, during which jewelry and expensive watches worth more than 3.3 million euros were stolen.
The verdict was delivered by the District Court in Düsseldorf, which found the accused Serb (55) guilty of aggravated robbery committed as part of an organized criminal group.
The court stated that it was a well-planned operation, characteristic of the methods that have been associated with the “Pink Panthers” for years.
“The Serb was arrested only last year in Switzerland after the robbery of a money transport company. He was extradited to Germany in early February. The fifty-five-year-old has already served prison time several times for jewelry theft in France and Spain,” says a source, adding what the Serb’s role was in the robbery for which he has now been sentenced:
“At that time, the 55-year-old Serb threatened the employees and kept them at a distance with pepper spray, while his accomplices emptied the display cases and windows.”
Cinematic robbery in Germany
The robbery occurred in December 2020, when masked attackers crashed a car through the entrance of the jewelry store while keeping the employees under control by threatening them with tear gas. In just a few minutes, they collected the most expensive pieces of jewelry and watches from the displays, after which they fled.
According to the prosecution, the gang had a precisely developed escape plan, and the stolen goods were soon transferred out of Germany.
As confirmed during the trial, the stolen jewelry and watches were found a week later in Serbia, as part of an international police operation, which was one of the key pieces of evidence against the accused.
The Serb robbed before
The court took as an aggravating circumstance the fact that the defendant had previously been convicted of similar criminal offenses, which is why a sentence significantly stricter than the one requested by the prosecution was imposed.
The prosecution requested eight years in prison, while the defense sought an acquittal, but the court decided otherwise. The verdict is not yet final, and one of the accomplices has already been sentenced, while the search for the third member of the group continues, Kurir writes.
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Source: Nova.rs; Photo: EPA