Wafi Mall heist: Third accused goes on trial in Dubai

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) A member of a gang internationally known as Pink Panther has gone on trial in the Dubai Court of First Instance over the daring April 15, 2007, heist at a jewellery shop in Wafi Mall.

The 34-year-old Serbian, A.B., is the third ''Pink Panther'' to stand trial in Dubai in connection with the sensational heist.

The group of armed robbers drove two stolen Audi A8s through the glass faade at the mall before stopping at the House of Graff and making their getaway with jewellery and watches worth Dh14.7 million in front of stunned shoppers.

The Pink Panther gang is a loosely aligned network of criminals who targeted high-end jewellery stores between 1999 and 2015.

A.B. has committed many robberies in Europe, including Monaco and Switzerland. He was arrested by the Spanish authorities in February 2014 and handed over to the UAE authorities in October 2015. Apart from the armed robbery charge, A.B. is also accused of obtaining an entry permit with a forged passport and illegally entering and exiting the country.

It was learnt that the defendant entered the UAE with a forged Yugoslav passport on March 24, 2007, and exited on April 17, 2007.

During that time, he stayed with a Bosnian accomplice (a runaway) in a flat in Al Rafaa. The building watchman identified them when he saw their photos.

A police lieutenant said: "We learnt that an employee at a rental car office received an international call from one of the gang members, telling him not to report to the police about the car they had rented. He said they still needed it and promised to settle the rent due on it."

It was a very useful tip for the Dubai Police. They found the rented car about 500 metres away from A.B.''s flat. The police watched the car until an Eastern European man (against whom no charges were filed) went to drive it. He told the police it was rented by one of the runaway suspects.

One of the gang members had earlier been convicted by a Dubai court and sentenced to 10 years in jail for arranging for the crime tools, including masks and gloves. Another accomplice had been cleared of the charge of possessing a part of the stolen items.

A police lieutenant said: "The Dubai Police have been taking part in meetings held by the Interpol since the robbery. On May 30, 2007, we took part in a meeting held in Germany and submitted evidence picked up from the robbery scene, including DNA traces of the suspects. The accused on trial was arrested by the Interpol after those DNA traces matched with the samples saved in the Interpol''s database."

How the robbers became Pink Panthers

According to the defendant on trial, the gang got its name based on a "true story" that took place in France a long time ago. The gang stole a diamond from a jewellery exhibition and smuggled it out of the airport in a cosmetic box. One of the gang members was wearing pink clothes then.

Interesting facts about the case

> The Dh14.7 million Wafi Mall heist was carried out in less than a minute

> Dubai Police''s investigation into the case helped Interpol identify the gang''s modus operandi

> The heist car was put on show at the Dubai Police Museum in 2013 to "reflect the police''s ingenious work in cracking the case"

> A 2013 film documentary called "Smash and Grab: The Story of the Pink Panthers" chronicles some of the gang''s exploits and the efforts of law enforcement agencies - including Dubai Police - to bring them to justice

> The gang is believed to have carried out around 380 armed robberies targeting high-end jewellery stores between 1999 and 2015

> The combined value of the thefts is estimated to be over ?334 million