Two suspected members of the Pink Panthers jewel thief network were arrested for a €580,000 valuables robbery in Halkidiki. The suspects were captured in Bulgaria and Croatia.
Two suspects were arrested in Bulgaria and Croatia under European arrest warrants issued by Greek authorities for a jewellery store robbery in Halkidiki that netted nearly €580,000 in watches and valuables.
The robbery took place on 2 September 2025 at a jewellery store inside a hotel in the Greek resort town south of Thessaloniki.
Officers from the Sub-Directorate for Combating Organised Crime of Northern Greece identified the two suspects, said to be Serbian nationals aged 48 and 46.
The suspects are said to be members of the Pink Panthers, an international criminal network mostly composed of Serbian and Montenegrin nationals that specialises in jewellery robberies.
The group, which has roughly 800 core members according to Interpol, is responsible for some of the most audacious heists in the history of organised crime.
Greek investigators, working with Europol and European police forces, determined that four members of the organisation operated in Greece between 20 August and 2 September 2025 to plan and execute the robbery.
The suspects entered Greece from abroad at different times using forged travel documents and rented vehicles fitted with stolen licence plates to avoid detection, according to authorities.
During the robbery, the 48-year-old and an unknown accomplice held two employees at gunpoint and stole luxury watches and valuables worth around €580,000.
The 46-year-old and an unidentified female accomplice provided backup, posing as tourists while monitoring the surrounding area.
The 48-year-old is known to Swiss authorities for home burglary cases. Police are investigating both suspects' involvement in similar armed robberies in other European countries in 2024 and 2025. Greek authorities await extradition decisions from the competent judicial authorities in Bulgaria and Croatia.
The Pink Panthers have been active in Greece for years. Greek police have arrested multiple cells of the organisation since 2007, including arrests in Athens in 2022, 2023 and 2024 for separate jewellery store robberies.