Pink Panther gang member jailed over £1.7m jewel theft

A MEMBER of the infamous Balkan "Pink Panthers" gang has been sentenced to eight years' jail for a robbery in Germany by a court in Montenegro.

Vladimir Lekic, 33, was convicted yesterday for helping steal jewels and watches worth around ?€2 million (1.7m) from a Frankfurt jewellery store in December 2003.

The court in Podgorica said Lekic carried out the robbery with two fellow Montenegrins, who are already in jail in France.

Lekic was arrested in June last year on an Interpol warrant. He has already been sentenced in absentia to seven years' jail in Belgium for another robbery.

Judges said Lekic was been identified from security video footage at the Frankfurt jewellers when he pointed a screwdriver at a cheek of a saleswoman while his accomplices robbed the store.

Lekic pleaded not guilty, saying he had only passed through Germany at the time. His defence said he would appeal.

The Pink Panthers are the prime suspects in a series of thefts that have netted more than €120 million of jewels and expensive watches over the past decade in Europe, Asia and the Persian Gulf. International police officials have said about 25 arrests have been made in recent years and 400 people are being investigated as members or accomplices. They believe the core group numbers about 40 people who observe a code of silence.

Th gang is named after the 1963 film starring Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau.