All language subtitles for 2013 -Smash grab the story of the pink panthers

( Man speaking indistinctly )

( children laughing )

( chattering )

( electronic beeping )

( car horn blares )

( car engine revving )

( tires screeching )

( tires screeching,
glass shatters )

Woman #1: Now, they're
known as the Pink Panthers.

They're a gang
that steals jewels

from high end stores
all over the world.

And one of their alleged...

Woman #2:
Armed with this magnum revolver

and helped
by an accomplice, he pounced.

( glass shattering )

Man #1: We're talking about
an international criminal group,

made up of more than 200 people.

They are organized
in independent cells

and they live
in different countries.

Man #2: These are all people
from the former Yugoslavia.

The core of the group comes
from Montenegro,

there's another
substantial group from Serbia.

( car horn honks ) Milena Miletic: One
of the Panthers said that every robbery

that is lasting more than
22 seconds is a great risk.

( car horn honks )

Novak: There's no alarm,
no security system,

that can be good,
but cannot be broken.

A few hours, and you're in
another country and you're safe.

( tires screeching )

That's what I like, you know.

Mike: I have a lot to tell you
about these robberies,

and there were many, but the
best job I ever did was in Spain.

Mike: We waited for a festival
that was about to take place,

and we waited a long time.

There was some kind of
a religious thing,

a fiesta, music, dancing...

( police radio chatter )

...some kind of noise that

they couldn't hear us
banging through the walls.

And now the action could begin.

( Phone buttons beeping )

( phone ringing )

( ringing continues )

My name is Novak, you know,

and people
call us Pink Panthers.

( laughs )

English people, they call us
because of the film.

I read somewhere that one
inspector, I don't know where,

he said that we are terrorists
or something like that,

modern terrorists,
but it's not true.

I mean, we are just taking
something unimportant

for rich people for us
who doesn't have that, you know?

( laughs )

( phone hangs up )

Novak:
We start with some houses,

you know, some cars, something like that...
( glass shatters )

...but jewelry,
we find out it's much easier.

Jewelry is small,
it's expensive,

they get you more money.

They can be in China,

they can be in Singapore,
Tokyo, Dubai.

Wherever they have
rich stuff, we can be there.

( alarm blaring )

( alarm winds down, stops )

( boat horn blares )

( seagulls squawking )

Here we are really in the middle
of the old town of Geneva.

And there you have
all the biggest jewelries...

...with millions and millions
of stuff in the windows.

There you have Chatila.

This jewelry was attacked
by the Pinks in 2009.

That means they enter
by this door,

and after that they
were in this road,

two scooter...
You say scooter in English?

...were waiting, and when
they finish the robberies

they jump on the scooter
and they leave the place.

Gubelin was attacked
one or two times by the Pinks,

Graff, Graff Geneva...

de Grisogono, Chopard, Atelier.

But the statistics are numbers,

approximately 500 cases
of robberies

and burglaries
made by the Pinks.

Speaking about the value
of all the robberies,

approximately
300 million of US dollars.

If you take all their
triumphs together,

they are the best
jewelry thieves in the world.

I don't know, but my feeling,
you see, it's a Pink Panther,

and there are colleagues who gave
me that one or two years ago.

They were involved in a case that
began here and they work on,

and they find this big Pink
Panther and they bring it here,

and it's a joke
between all the teams

in Europe working
on the Pink Panthers.

( phone ringing )

Director: Can you tell me,

when did you first hear
of the Pink Panthers?

Glassey: It was in 2000.

At the beginning it was different,
for me it was as different

as the other teams
about the organization.

It was more organized,

the action was very,
very fast when they come.

Glassey: They have made
a lot of robberies,

so that means when they come,

they are confident, they are
sure about what they have to do.

The preparation is
very, very good.

That means they come,
sometimes some months before

to try to find which jewelry
they are going to attack,

and after that, to know exactly
how they are going to work,

how many people
they need to be there,

how they are going to escape,

and after that
they do the robbery.

Sometimes working on bad guys,

there is something very
particular, very special between.

There is a respect, but at the
same time it's like a game,

they know that
we are hunting them,

because it is
a little bit like that,

from Pacino and De Niro
in the film.

It was like that,
but there are always movies.

They are not the realities.

We just must remember
that they are bad guys,

going inside jewelry with guns.

Capt. Herve Conan: We understood
in this time that they were able

to do things incredible,
that nobody had done before.

The first time we didn't know
that they were Pink Panthers,

you know, this name
did not exist in this time.

And the first time we just think
it was one robbery

or two robberies, that's all.

We did not identify the first
time the importance of the group.

It was a challenge because they are
crossing the borders very fast,

after the robbery, very easily,

we started to understand
that it was a group.

The only thing we know

that they were
coming from former Yugoslavia,

that's all we had
at the first time.

And so we started to identify the
different cities they were coming from

in former Yugoslavia, especially
in Montenegro, from Cetinje.

- Yugoslavia!
- Yugoslavia.

Yugoslavia!

Yugoslavia.

Female host: Few Americans know
little or anything about Yugoslavia.

One reason is because not many
people know where to find it.

Actually,
it's really quite simple.

Just go to Italy
and make a right.

Yugoslavia.

Female host: A popular
misconception about Yugoslavia

is that it is a neighboring
country of the Soviet Union.

In actuality, it borders
seven European countries,

none of them being Russia.

A bigger misconception than the
location though, is the country itself.

When most Americans think of Yugoslavia,
this is not what comes to mind.

Or this.

Or this.

Or even this.

( car horn honks )

( siren blaring in distance )

( dog barking )

Milena: The first time I heard
about the Panthers were in 2004.

It was surprise,
and my first thought,

when the newspapers
published that

the perpetrators were
three Serbs.

I said,
"Fuck! This is all we need!"

My second thought,
however, was hmm,

interesting,
and how very skilful people.

Because I didn't know
how they did it.

Well, before 2000,
we don't have Pink Panthers.

Some people started with
so big and exclusive heists.

Mostly in Europe. Only Europe.

And after it, we have then

some of the Panthers
robbed out of Europe,

they went to Bahrain,

they went to Japan,

they went to Dubai.

I'm working right now for BIRN,

"Balkan Investigative
Reporting Network",

and at the moment I am looking

for Pink Panthers like I'm mad.

I'm working
for more than two years on this.

At first I didn't believe it was
possible to find any of them.

Why would any say,

"Look, I am Pink Panther,
I'm going to help you"?

So that required a lot of work,

a lot of traveling,
a lot of phone calls,

finding sources on the places

you would never believe
you can find them.

That usually meant
being on the road all the time,

traveling through
the region all the time,

meeting all kinds
of people all the time.

You must talk to dozens

of different people,
all kinds of people,

meet them, be ready
to meet them any time.

( speaking Bosnian )

Milena:
You must make them trust you

that you're
not going to talk to the police,

that you're not going
to put any of them in danger.

But you know, when you
something so extraordinary

which attracts the attention
of the whole of the world

and many people say "Bravo! You
robbed the bigger criminals."

Well, that can light
some fire inside, I believe so.

( Man speaking in Bosnian )

Director:
Um, okay, so if we start with...

Could he just introduce himself?

( Mike speaking in Bosnian )

Director:
Okay, Mike, so we've agreed

that we will record this interview
but not show your face.

( sound of scribbling
on sketch pad )

Director: Okay, so we'll
use your real words

but we will animate
you and your voice, okay?

Mike:
No face, not my real voice.

Director: So tell me, who
are the Pink Panthers?

Well, I don't have a badge
that says Pink Panther on it.

We are a network
of teams working together,

and as soon as I was involved
I became part of the network.

Everybody has their specific
job to do, understand?

So we all depend on each other.

Those in the inner circle
are called family,

but you have guys who don't know who
their bosses or associates are.

You have to been
with them for a long time

dealing with this
kind of bigger jobs.

You get tips from
your own supervisor

but there is
also a wider chain of command.

You know, you never know
where you stand in the hierarchy

because you never meet the boss.

You know, you don't know
that this guy is the big boss.

There is no such a thing,
no big boss.

You need a brain, knowledge,

and experience to do this work.

This means, you know,
the jobs that we do,

and the other gangs
that do sex, drugs, murder,

they rarely cross over,
you know.

Director: So, tell me, what
is it about the diamonds?

( Mike gasps )

I don't know why people
spend money on diamonds.

You know, I don't suffer
from this showing off.

I have a Rolex,
but as a souvenir.

The diamonds, no,
they don't attract me.

You know, for me, diamonds
mean good cash, nothing else.

Leila: Not anyone
can do this job.

You must be born to do it.

You must firstly
trust in yourself...

( camera whirring )

...because if you are weak,
you can't do it.

( high heels
clacking on pavement )

Women in the Panthers
have to be exceptional.

Exceptional.

( Woman speaking
over P.A. system indistinctly )

Leila:
I was extremely good looking,

30 kilos less.

I had long red hair at the time,

although I had frequent
transformations, very frequent.

I'll be sometimes blonde,
sometimes brunette.

Well, you can only have
one in each gang,

and we have higher
requirements for the women.

You know, they have
the leading roles.

They have to do the main job.

So, they do the scouting,
they enter,

they record,
and they bring you the plan.

That means the woman
has to be intelligent,

she has to be beautiful,
and she has to love money.

Panthers are the guys do a great
majority of jobs, per script

but they also need
a woman on their team.

Everyone always thinks
it's the men, men, men,

but without women,
nothing would be done.

Mike: Leila has to be dressed
in the most expensive clothes,

you know, most elegant clothes,
very expensive jewelry.

Also to have her own chauffeur,

she had to act
exactly like Madonna.

( car door closes )

Leila:
I had to look very powerful.

It was stuff by Burberry,
then Chanel,

whatever was in,
she is in background

and whatever was popular.

I wouldn't even know
some of the brands that existed,

but the stuff purchased,

it was well known
that they were very expensive.

( Thunder crashing )

( car alarm blaring )

( car door slamming shut )

( tires screeching )

Director:
So how did it all begin?

In the beginning,
it was individuals,

small shops, casinos.

We went where
there was money, you know, gold.

And eventually,
jobs were bigger and better.

( Door creaks )

Mike: When I was in Italy I
worked with this guy from Kosovo,

like his apprentice.

He could open a safe
in two minutes.

We worked together for a year,

and by the end,

I could open
a "cat" in no time.

Director: What's a cat?

The cat,
we call it cat-- a safe.

Jewelry is like a magnet
for crime.

It's worth a lot
and the crooks want it.

Hello, I'm Mike Skewers
for Jewelry Security Alliance.

Jewelry crime is big business,
often run by organized criminals

who won't hesitate
to use violence, in the city,

suburbs or out in the country.

Skewers: Jewelry crime causes
$1.1 billion in losses each year,

from all sources,
including consumers.

But in most stores, most of the jewelry
does end up here at closing time,

and even though it's not
as common as you might think,

the safe is still a target.

I have a lot to tell you about these
robberies, and there were many.

But the best job I ever did
was in Spain.

The perfect plan.

Mike: The jewelry shop
was a perfect target,

and it was
a beautiful boutique, you know,

very high class.

Leila: There was, in this city
a most beautiful jewelry shop,

everything with diamonds,

rings with diamonds, bracelets,

necklaces, very beautiful.

Jewelry rarely achieves

that kind of sparkle,
very rarely.

But we had no access there,

no access at all,

so we had to do it
in a different way.

We tried many ways, we had
different ideas about the job,

and then finally we had the idea,
just to hire the shop next door.

Leila: Next to the jewelry shop
was the souvenir shop.

In order to get to jewelry shop

we needed to go through
the second shop first.

Mike: She met the Spanish shop
owner and befriended him.

She had to lure
the guy into a trap.

( door bell jingles )

I didn't go to seduce him,

but my very appearance
contributed to his joy.

( Door creaks )

He employed me at his place,

not to work, because I couldn't
speak the language well enough,

but to oversee things.

Mike: She had to do a good job
because we needed to gain his trust.

You know,
of course her beauty helped.

He thought that,
they could get closer, you know,

that they would be
together every day.

Well, I don't see
why should I feel guilty,

it is his problem that
he fell in love with me

and that my presence
brought him lots of pleasure.

I couldn't do anything
about that.

So when she was there,
she examined the wall,

which gave us an idea
that we could knock it down,

and where we could exit,

which way we could run.

Leila was there so she can scan,

and find any information,

and see if the plan
would be possible.

The reason why I spent a lot
of time with the Spanish guy

was so that I could observe
when exactly

that the jewelry shop closed,

when would it open,

when they would go out
for a coffee,

for how long they would be out,

generally it was all about them.

In fact,

I'm the most important part
of the job,

and I'm aware of that.

My one mistake
would be their fall.

So if I make an error somewhere,

they are doomed.

Director: Tell me about your
life growing up in Yugoslavia.

Mike: I'm from the border of
Montenegro and Albania, actually.

I'm 48.

My father was
both Muslim, and a Communist.

( Cheering and applause )

Mike: Tito, he was our idol.

( speaking Bosnian )

( small child speaking
in Bosnian )

Milena: Tito and the Communist
Party of Yugoslavia

declared the Republic
of Yugoslavia in 1945.

People now remember
of that period

like the Golden Age.

Milena: He was a very
authoritarian ruler,

he liked his position,

but he also had a strong sense

of what is necessary to do.

Yugoslavia was made

by many different nations,

different religions,

different ethnic groups,

we had more than
20 ethnic groups here,

and I believe

it was very hard
to put them all together

and keep that country alive.

( Children singing in Bosnian )

As kids, you know,

I had in my class
alongside gypsies

and other Albanian,
Croatian, you know,

Germans, Jews, Muslims.

( child speaking in Bosnian )

It was really amazing.

Mike: I only got my first
passport when I was 16 or 17.

But I couldn't wait
for the summer.

In May,
the first tourists would come.

Germans, French, Italian,

and English would come too,

and you know,
and they would go swim naked.

I would sell them coke and beer.

Wherever there was an opportunity
to peek to watch naked women

I would sit down to watch.

My first love was
this German woman.

( Chuckles )

I am still thinking of her now.

That's how I actually
got to learn my German.

Ah, see how
it's all coming back.

( Wind howling )

- ( dog barking in distance )
- ( Church bell in distance )

Leila: As a young girl,
I lived in Dmitrovgrad.

It was a small house
where my grandmother lived.

But my aunt came for me,

and my life continued
in Hamburg, in Germany.

( Foreign '80s
pop music playing )

I had a wonderful time,
wonderful.

This is something that remains
stamped in my memory.

I was taken by the extravagance
and luxury there was.

I thought I will become something
and somebody in my life.

I couldn't go out that much, as
my aunt was a very strict woman.

She was working
in a Yugoslav restaurant

and she got me a job to wash
dishes and to work at the bar.

I had a chance
to meet all kinds of people.

And that's how
I met my boyfriend.

I was still a child,

17 years old,

and there was some kind
of chemistry between us,

and after that he started
giving me all kinds of gifts--

perfumes, necklaces, bracelets--

and so we got together.

( Speaking German )

Ladies and gentlemen,

we would like to inform you
about a few things

that will be of interest to you
during the flight.

Leila: I was in love and I was doing
everything just to be with him.

It was arranged that
we all go to Spain.

But this is where
everything was clear to me.

This was a criminal job
that he was doing.

When he confessed, I wasn't
bothered with it at all.

In fact, I asked him
to introduce me to his job

so I can be closer to him.

( thunder crashing )

I was very anxious,
nervous, I wanted to do it,

but in that moment I thought
to myself, how am I going to?

Somewhere in
the back of my mind,

I was afraid,
but I never show it.

I would go all or nothing.

And I became the scout--
I entered the shop,

I recorded where
everything is, I told them.

Mike: Leila would then
simply enter the boutique,

and she would just do everything,
solely with her eyes.

Where everything is, the
distances, how far things are,

what she thinks
can be done, to what extent,

who is there, and how many
of them, how many cameras.

Every single detail
she has to cover.

It is only a woman
who can do this job properly.

A man would stick out too much.

She can ask for a necklace,
she can ask for a ring.

( Electronic beeping )

Leila: I had a very large hat.

I looked like a real lady,

and I had that ring.

( dings )

That ring was very expensive,

and I told them
that I lost weight

and that I came
for them to make it smaller.

While they were doing this,
I had plenty of time

to assess and check out
everything around me.

( surveillance camera
beeping, whirring )

I couldn't see that safe.

We call the safe the kitten.

I couldn't locate it.

But everything else
I had to assess.

When I would go back home,

there was a man who would
sketch it all based on my story.

He drew it all.

The woman didn't
take part in the action.

She gave us the key,
gave us information,

and her part
of the job is finished.

Most of the time I felt strong,

but I sometimes

had a feeling
that I was drowning,

that everything is
falling to pieces,

but when I would see
my boyfriend next to me,

it would lift me up.

Leila: You have to lock
yourself in a room.

You would see
other people from the balcony,

a girlfriend or a boyfriend
walking in the open,

but we were not
allowed to do that.

You would feel
a kind of collapse

somewhere in your soul.

Sometimes nothing, neither money

or gold or any kind of wealth

would give me
as much satisfaction

as the mere thought that one day

we will go away
together and be alone,

hope that we will live

a normal life
like everyone else.

Mike:
And it took about four months

to complete
all this planning process,

and it costs,
it costs a lot of money.

Leila: And after all that,
I had to disappear,

because that was
the arrangement between us.

I would have beauticians coming
to my house, hairdressers.

Not even Milan
can recognize me sometimes,

but he would tell me that
I have to do frequent makeovers

because of myself and
because of the false documents.

Director: So that sounds fun

and quite glamorous, the transformations.
Did you enjoy it?

No, I hated it.

They weren't fun to do,

because I liked
the way I looked,

and sometimes
those transformations

would bother me,

like I lost my identity.

I felt like a doll

that was experimented on.

( Bird squawking )

Mike: Tito died in 1980.

It was like my father
had died, just like my father.

I can't explain the mourning.

They took us to visit his mausoleum--
Kuca Cveca it was called.

And you would have
to queue for two days

to visit his tomb
and pay a tribute to him.

The entire Yugoslavia was there.

( Man speaking Bosnian )

This is when it all started.

We could sense the separation
coming from the point

that each republic
would have their own president.

( Crowd chattering loudly )

( Slobodan Milosevic
speaking in Bosnian )

Mike: The first time
I saw Milosevic

was on television.

I saw him during
this big rally in Kosovo.

( Milosevic speaking
in Bosnian )

The separation and hatred
had already started by then,

you know, in every city
there was a national ID,

you're a Serb, you're Albanian,

this guy's from Croatia,
you know, from Kosovo.

I don't know, great tension,
everything was cracking open.

For me,
as an Albanian in Montenegro,

the hatred was very visible.

Just pure hatred.

This is where
the huge partition started.

( Milosevic speaking
in Bosnian )

Milena: After Tito died,

separatist groups in
different nations of Yugoslavia

just rose up

and they really contributed

to the final end
of that country,

to its dismantling.

Female host: I think that
you'll have to agree

that Yugoslavia is
a pretty spectacular country,

and we haven't
even seen half of it yet.

Tomorrow night, Belgrade,
the capital of Yugoslavia,

Sarajevo, the site
of the 1984 Winter Olympics,

and then Dubrovnik, one of
the most exciting, unique

and charming little cities
in all of the world.

I saw it last night and I can't
wait for you to see it.

So I'll see you
tomorrow night from Yugoslavia!

( Foreign folk music playing )
not sure how to describe

( explosion )

( automatic gunfire )

Male news reporter:
The ethnically mixed communities

of Muslims, Serbs and Croats

have traditionally
lived together in peace,

until a majority of the people in Bosnia
and Herzegovina voted for independence,

denying Serbia its plans
for a newly formed Yugoslavia.

( man speaking in Bosnian )

All the darkness
from the Milosevic regime

left a huge mark
in people's soul.

Many people were just like...

...to the war zones,

you know,
sent to Dubrovnik or Bosnia,

to kill, to rape.

I like this area, I really do.

It's so great.script says green

This is the street where I spent
many hours during the '90s

because I demonstrating against
Slobodan Milosevic and his rule,

and it has very strong
and very fresh memories.

( Chuckles )

I mean, we tried to say
look, it's time for you to go,

you are taking us
into total disaster.

It is just interesting to pass
here after so many years.

Nice street.

Male reporter: It's time to turn
up the pressure on Yugoslavia,

the European community
decided today.

Behind closed doors they imposed

immediate trade
sanctions against Yugoslavia

and the U.N. Security
Council has been asked

to co-ordinate an oil embargo.

Douglas Hurd:
What we've decided today is

to impose sanctions
on the whole of Yugoslavia

and over time that will certainly
build into an effective pressure.

I don't know how long.

( Man speaking in Bosnian )

( Lucky continues
speaking in Bosnian )

Mike: By the end of '94,

it was the core of the
Milosevic regime, activities.

You know, times were such
that you didn't know

what tomorrow
was going to bring.

You know, you all took this
rhythm of "Come on! Come on!"

Smuggling everywhere,
crime everywhere,

and nobody thought
about real jobs.

I mean, there's no real job.

I had a good deal of money.

When there was a job,
cracking safe,

I would go abroad
for a month or two.

Yeah, it was a good job,
profitable, you know?

We were dancing to the music.

( Eastern European
folk music playing )

It was the time
of turbo folk music,

every time I hear it
I think chaos.

( Woman singing in Bosnian )

Everybody was trying
to swindle you, rob you, cheat,

you know, it was bare survival,
just deceit after deceit.

There was not a single night that
somebody wasn't beaten up or killed.

( Lucky speaking in Bosnian )

Dr. Vesna Bojicic: The black market
has flourished under the sanctions.

There is a widespread network of
illegal dealings in all spheres,

and it is done with the quiet
consent of Serbian government.

Milena: It is the truth that
crime erupted during the wars,

which is usual and expected.

Many people
became criminals, but not all.

We all had a choice.

It wasn't easy,
it was difficult.

I could become prostitute,

or drug smuggler,
or oil smuggler.

But I'm not.

( Rain falling )

( thunder crashing )

( Lucky speaking in Bosnian )

Male news reporter:
It's not over yet.

Hundreds were kicked out
of Kosovo today, literally,

kicked and beaten at the border,
within sight of freedom.

( man grunts )

And so the biggest forced
exodus in Europe goes on

with enough bitterness to
ensure that Albanians and Serbs

will find it hard ever
to live together again.

Europe couldn't do much, you
know, it was getting too big.

Refugees from Bosnia,
from Kosovo, from Croatia.

And 70 percent of these
refugees went to Europe.

So all the criminals
went to Europe,

and this is
the beginning of Pink Panther.

( Woman speaking in Bosnian )

( speaking in Bosnian )

( electronic buzzer rings )

Milena: Some change
just happened in 2000,

few people started to rob.

Really, really big values.

( glass shattering )

Okay, they are using guns,
this is to scare.

That is the only purpose of gun,

but one of
their condition is no victims.

They were actually
creating the signature

of what we know
now as Pink Panthers.

And as one Panther said,

"After that, you have
10 years of a very good life."

Mike: So we waited for a festival
that was about to take place,

and we waited a long time.

( fireworks exploding )

It was some kind
of a religious thing,

a fiesta, and music, dancing.

Just some kind of noise, that
was what we were waiting for,

some kind of noise that

they couldn't hear us
banging through the walls.

( Crowd cheering, whistling )

Mike Skewers:
Because the crooks need time,

they are more likely to hit
safes on weekends or holidays,

and they are clever
about finding ways

to do it without
attracting attention.

Mike: There was four of us,
plus one guy in a van.

We were completely hidden
by the people in the street.

( explosions, people cheering )

We were all dressed up,

we had our masks, bodysuits.

Completely covered up.
You couldn't see us at all.

And now the action could begin.

( Man grunts, wall crashing )

We only needed
to pickaxe the wall.

In the end there
was a hole this big.

And we squeezed through it
into the boutique behind.

We knew everything that was
in a glass case was alarmed,

but it's a trick,
they always do this.

They alarm cheap stuff
like a decoy.

But the real booty
is in the safe.

So we go to the safe,

we try to take it out
with a pick axe...

( grunting )

...but we couldn't.

We were looking at it, and there
was, there was no chance.

And then we saw the screws
were inside the concrete,

and we had the idea,
to lift it up with a carjack,

luckily there was
one in the van.

We got out.

We took the safe
out of the shop...

- ( thumps )
- ...and we put it in the van.

People around us, fiesta,
fireworks, incredible.

( Car engine starts )

The thing is, there's no panic
when you do the job.

The panic begins when you run.

( Tires screeching,
cars whizzing by )

But we drove away
through the people,

and we went away into the woods.

( Car engine shuts off )

We got out by a lake,
I remember,

somewhere dark, somewhere safe,

somewhere secure,

and then we began
to open the safe.

( safe dial clicking )

You get the safes
that are mechanical,

numerical, with locks,

and you get the digital ones.

I can crack them all.

Digital safes,
they are the easiest to open.

You know, you take
some powder, and you dust them,

and then you can see
the fingerprints,

and you know everything.

Numerical ones
are the hardest, you know.

You have to use your hearing.

You have to have very good
hearing, and a good memory.

This is very difficult.

But in this case,
we couldn't open it.

We tried everything--
we made phone calls,

I spoke to,
there's another safe expert,

but we gave up that night.

( fireworks howling )

( sighs )

You can't sleep.

You can't sleep, for God's sake.

We all did this together,
we are friends,

but with this kind of loot your brain
works in a different frequency.

You could have
two or three million euros,

and you don't know
what will happen.

I don't know, money's money.
You can't separate.

If one of us is missing,
he could take it all.

( Phone beeps )

Leila:
I was in the flat on my own,

I was already worrying
why they were not back yet.

They didn't call, no phone calls at
all, because that was the arrangement.

I didn't know
what was happening,

all kinds of thoughts
were going through my head.

I would often cry and I wanted
to get out of the flat,

but I was told not to do that.

Sometimes I wouldn't
even care about the money.

I waited for him, not the loot.

( Metallic clanging )

Mike:
We had to wait for the morning

to buy additional tools
that we needed.

We bought two more crow bars,
one big, one small.

- ( metallic creaking )
- We took another pick axe,

and we thought we could
do something with burning gas.

( raining )

And when we had the tools,
we went back to the lake.

and inside we could pick
and pick until finished.

( thunder crashing )

It took over an hour
to open the safe.

And when you open a safe and you
see it's a full, full safe...

...that's the feeling,
it's like...

( sighs )

...it's like a feeling
you might faint any moment.

I love that.

( Camera shutter clicking )

And in this safe,
there was plenty of stuff.

There was really a lot.

We found six bags,
that we call call rolls.

It was three stones,
three bags of stones,

two with bracelets
and one with watches.

In the newspapers,
when it came about the robbery,

it said the value,
three million.

And if I can only say what else
we found inside of the safe,

we found a fake penis.

You say dildo, no?

And I bet you they didn't
declare that to the police.

( laughs )

Director: What did they
do with the jewels?

We don't know exactly.

What we know is that the jewels are
going very fast out of the country

where they committed
the robbery.

You know, the day after
the jewelry disappeared,

we think that they are going to
Italy or Montenegro or Serbia,

and then after it is sold.

Director: So what do you
do with the diamonds?

Okay, we bring
the stones over here,

to our contact in Belgrade,

but he doesn't have
a market in former Yugoslavia,

he has to sell abroad.

But maybe,
I don't know, Antwerp?

We would do this job ourselves,

but it's very risky abroad,
because you make an offer,

you give it to the guy,
they take it, and it's a set up,

and bang, you're killed.

No, we stay in Balkans.

( Timer ticking )

( Lucky speaking in Bosnian )

Director: What do you do then?
Do you hide it? Swallow it?

Capt. Herve Conan:
They had a false passport

and they were about
to cross the border

very easily by plane,
by car or by train.

And for them it was
a real difficulty to follow them

and to know
what they are going to do.

( Lucky speaking in Bosnian )

When they go back
to the country,

there was like a protection.

They knew that nobody
is going to come

to Montenegro or to Serbia
to pick them there,

even if you have
an arrest warrant,

because some of them
were involved with politicians

and so it was very difficult.

So they knew that, as soon
as I have made my robbery,

I go back to the country,
there I am protected.

( Lucky speaking in Bosnian )

That's right that
in the Balkans they speak

from the Pink's
a little bit like Robin Hood,

but that's not a reality.

Normally,
about the guys we know,

the money they use,
or they have,

they are not going to give that

for the Red Cross or
associations or in Montenegro.

You have some who re-invest
the money in drugs,

some who put
the money in real estate,

and some who just use
the money for the fun.

( Roulette ball clanging )

Leila:
Then the thing starts changing,

he started gambling,
going out all the time,

the money that we had, he started
to rapidly spend it more and more.

And then we would start arguing.

I wanted to somehow attract him
to live a different kind of life.

I thought, perhaps...

- he needs only one more job...
- ( Faucet runs, stops )

and he would change,
he would change his life.

But I saw that he wouldn't
change for anything or anybody.

He said he wanted me
to continue my life,

and that he didn't know

if his life will ever change.

Then I gave up on him.

( Chanting in Bosnian )

Mr. Green: My name is Green and
I'm from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I don't consider myself
as one of Pink Panthers,

but I am connected.

In 1996, I joined
the Special Operation Unit,

because I knew that the contacts
in the Serbian Security Service

would allow me
job benefits in the future.

My first criminal job in Bosnia

was to import stolen cars
from Europe.

The second job was human
trafficking for prostitution,

predominately
from Ukraine and Moldova.

So it is only the third phase that
we do drugs, cocaine and diamonds.

Nothing in diamonds could be done
outside the Serb Secret Service.

America asked United Nations
to prevent diamond smuggling

because this war in Sierra Leone
was financed by diamond trade.

The Americans requested for every
diamond sold in Sierra Leone

had to have a certificate
about its origin and everything,

so we actually,
my group and myself,

learnt how to make certificates
and then how to make clean

illegal diamonds
that are ready for the market.

( siren blares )

The first contact with Pink
Panthers was when I started

a diamond business in Antwerp.

They would bring
diamonds for me.

And my team would process it,

forging diamond certificates
and putting real information

that had come from Sierra Leone, and
it was mined in this and that place,

and it has certificate
of origin, the entire genesis

that the Americans asked
the United Nations to establish.

The diamonds are cut,
reshaped, and they get smaller.

If it was 30 carats,
it's now 15.

( machine whirring )

They are clean
in every sense of the word.

It's not possible to prove
that they're not clean.

Our biggest clients
are Americans.

I would say, although
I've never been to America,

my diamonds are
on the hands of their brides.

I received information that Al
Qaeda also purchased diamonds.

Diamonds have
a good exchange value

because they don't leave
an electronic trace.

Every transaction over 15,000
euros or dollars is controlled,

but who controls
diamonds? Nobody.

You can come out
with a tiny bag full of diamonds

and you can buy
a boat filled with cocaine.

The first real step

on the real work
on the Pink Panthers is 2007,

when Monaco pushed Interpol
to make the project work,

to create this
project Pink Panther.

And the real job for me,
and began at this time,

because at this time
we began to say,

okay, they are linked,

in the selling way,

there are a lot of these teams

are linked
and working in all Europe,

and we have to do this project so we
can put all the information together.

If we take one example,
this guy,

we see that
he is connected to this guy

because they were arrested
together in 2004.

And at the same time,
he is connected with this guy,

because they have done
a robbery together.

Because we know
that between some groups,

there are like
a small competition,

who is going to make
the biggest robbery.

And we know that there are
some targets in the world,

and the first one
who is going to make that...

will take the lead
on the other teams.

( Tires screeching )

( crash, glass shattering )

Awad Mustafa:
Well, the night of the incident,

it was just a regular night out,

hanging out with some friends,

and I got a call
from a friend of mine

who informs me that there's
a big robbery going on at Wafi.

( Car horn honks )

She tells me
that her husband's there,

and he's just
sent her on Blackberry

video shot of what's happening.

I immediately headed out to Wafi

and I just saw the police
cordoning off the area around it.

( People chattering )

I was standing at the entrance
and started clipping pictures

and trying to see what's
going on and what's happened.

Out comes the door,
the Dubai Police chief.

The first words that have come
out of his mouth that night was,

"These were definitely
not Arabs.

This was too well organized."

Director: So what happened,
you went straight to the mall?

Yes, I went straight and I meet
my commanders or so

in the area,
and we closed the places,

and we found
some glasses in there

in the ground, so the
evidence from all the things,

we must to be
careful about the place,

and that's what we're doing.

Mustafa: The cars have come out
of this main doorway

that's right behind us,

drove straight through
onto this road

which connects them to the outside
of the mall and into the highway,

where we're gonna retrace the route
that they've taken right now.

From this point onwards
to the highway,

there are no traffic lights

so the guys had more or less
clear access to the roads.

( Police siren blaring
in distance )

So, the thieves dumped the cars,

set fire to them,
jumped into their getaway car

and now they've disappeared.

The whole thing would have possibly
taken them about 10 minutes.

Dr. Farida Al Shamali:
Next day morning, early morning,

the two cars
were found abandoned and burnt,

one of them more than the other.

Nattar Al Mazeina: He closed
all the window of the cars.

When he closed the window, there
is no oxygen for the fire inside

and then we find all
the evidence inside this car.

We find the gloves,
we find some dress,

we find the tanks that were used for
the chemicals to burn the cars.

Immediately we know
this is organized

from Pink Panther
organized crimes,

this is what I feel it immediately
when I go back to see the CCTV camera.

( Man speaking in Arabic )

Mustafa: At that time, every
single Serbian who's had a record

was picked up and questioned.

( speaking in Arabic )

Director: So how many people
did you have working on the job?

Listen,
we don't get limit for that,

it depends about what kind
of work they will be doing.

Mustafa: Over the next three, four
days, they just went frantic.

They kept on feeding
information to the Interpol

for the international police
force to try to get these guys.

( man speaking Arabic )

Al Shamali:
It's not easy for anyone

to do any crime
and not leave evidence.

They left evidence
that helped us,

because this is forensics,

and that's the beauty of DNA.

( Digital router beeping )

Major Saeed Abdullah Al Saadi:
We got information from Interpol

about the DNA,
so we were working,

and we knew that the rental car.

But this car,
nobody knows where this car is.

Then we found the car,

we decide that we will
not take the car,

we will watch it.

( Man speaking in Arabic )

And you find one guys,

they try to open the car
and you catch him,

because that's the guy, they sent him
to take the jewels out of the country.

We find the jewelry
inside this car.

Mustafa: Police, when
the arrests were made,

called in a huge
press conference.

All the media was there,

laid out the jewelry
in front of everybody and said,

we've caught them, we've
nabbed them and we're done.

Director:
And who were the others then?

- You had a picture of the girl?
- Nattar Al Mazeina: Yes.

- But she's not in prison?

- No. But she's in Serbia so maybe
she cannot be arrested in Serbia.

I hope they be honest
in Serbia, but I know it.

You know, we tried to discuss this
with Interpol, we tried to do so.

Director: And so if a member
of the Pink Panther gang

watches my film,
what is your message?

Nattar Al Mazeina:
To be far from our area,

don't try to play with us,

because we are not playing.

Conan: They had a great period
between 2000 and 2006,

and the problem for them,
is that the connection

between the different police
in Europe is a problem for them.

We can exchange
information very easily.

And on top of that,
with Serbia and Montenegro now,

we have a good connection

and they are cooperating with
the western police and Europe,

so for them
it's going to be harder

to complete
these robberies in Europe.

And that's what Interpol said,

it's one of the first times
they have such a project

who gives so many information

and who bring us
to so many arrests.

Since 2007,

you have next to 50 people

who were arrested across Europe.

Director: Is it still safe here?

Oh, no, no, no, Montenegro
isn't a safe haven anymore.

Montenegro now started
to extradite people

because they want
to join European Union.

So it's not anymore
about doing it and escaping,

you have to protect yourself
here as much as there.

But you know, now we lead
much more simple lives.

Things slowed down,
and you know,

now it's becoming more difficult
and more dangerous

because the police
know all the tricks.

It would be very nice,
you know, to feel secure,

to be in your home, safe.

And this is
the consequence of this job:

Paranoia.

You see,
now I walk down the street,

and my head goes
like a rear-view mirror.

Am I being followed?
Does anybody see me?

Anybody follow me?

The habit lingers.

Even now in my pocket
I have pills, just in case.

But crisis threw you back in it.

You know, you are used to
a lot of money, lots of fun.

We have a reputation, easy money
spent, easy money earned.

You know, it burns quickly so
when you are left with no money,

you don't know
how to do other job.

( Electronic bell buzzes )

Glassey: We have always
old teams who work,

who try to make new teams,

and at the same time
we have brand new teams,

we have a lot of guys

working in Old Europe.

For me, there is more violence,

already their entrance in the
jewelry is not so professional

and there could be
mistakes inside

and that could be
more dangerous for us

because the attitude of the bad guys
could bring us to a tragic end.

Look, I must warn you something,

you cannot say
the Pink Panther's era is over,

because you don't know
what will happen next.

It is maybe just the end
of our generation.

What is going on
with the other teams

from other countries
that want to do the same?

Maybe we are just
witnessing their developing.

Leila: I went back
to Dmitrovgrad, bad, very bad.

I was physically
and mentally shaken,

and after all that luxury,

I was completely broken down,
I was depressed.

But I realized that
I have to carry on with my life.

I got married
to a man who gave me hope.

He was completely legal, he wasn't
corrupt, he wasn't criminal,

but I finally started a new life
with him, I started a family.

( Baby cooing )

In my heart,
I remain what I was,

Milan is the man I love,
but when kids come,

you can't choose,
you have one path,

you cannot continue
on criminal path.

My mother was very pious

and with her I would sometimes
pray to God before bedtime.

But also in those moments
of hardship,

I would often go to church

to light up candles,
to cry, and think about things.

Director:
And do you still believe in God?

Yes, yes, of course.

And I teach my children,
of course.

We have to ask
for his forgiveness.

And all these people
who are criminals,

believe me, they believe in God

more than regular people.

We have to pray a lot more

for his forgiveness.

God is merciful,
and maybe he will.

( Electronic
theme music playing )

( cow moos )