The police and judiciary in Limburg suspect a group of criminals staying in the Balkans of the million-dollar robbery at the Tefaf art fair in Maastricht at the end of June last year. One of the stolen jewelry has now been recovered. The police announced this in a press release on Friday afternoon.
At the fair, four armed, presumably disguised men with sledgehammers smashed display cases of a British jewelery retailer Symbolic & Chase. Within two minutes they stole jewelry with a reported value of 30 million euros. The robbers then fled on electric scooters.
Pink Panthers
Several crime journalists, including Arthur Brand, immediately pointed to the ‘Pink Panthers’, a notorious gang of jewel robbers from the Balkans. Interpol suspects this gang, which owes its name to a scene from a Pink Panther movie, of many robberies in at least twelve countries. The total loot would be astronomical and run into the hundreds of millions. Police declined to comment on questions about the gang.
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A search team with twenty detectives is still working to solve the robbery. Due to the cooperation with foreign investigative services, it is a long-term investigation, according to the press release. “All information that is collected abroad is processed through requests for legal assistance, and that takes time.” The head of the investigation says he is still confident that the case can be solved.
Reward of half a million
The research bureau of the insurance company involved offered a reward of 500,000 euros in the autumn. Through Detection NLthe television program of RTL5, the police distributed photos of the suspects.
A new edition of Tefaf Maastricht will start next Thursday. The board of the art fair has announced that it has taken various additional security measures. Detection gates and handbag scanners will be installed at the entrance. Visitors are no longer allowed on the exhibition floor with coats and bags larger than A4 format.