Pink Panthers: Low profile of escaped jewelry thief from Europe who came to Núñez for the love of a woman

He spent ten days without leaving his apartment in a modern building in Nunez where he had lived for at least two years. It was characterized by its low profile. When he reached the street, he preferred not to attract attention. Hardly anyone knew that the 46-year-old man who called himself Eduardo René Díaz and who lived with his wife and children was an expert thief who starred in spectacular hits in jewelry stores in Europe.. His neighbors discovered that he was a criminal when they saw how detectives from the Interpol office in Buenos Aires handcuffed him and put him in a car.

Zvjezdan Begic, who was the subject of an international arrest warrant and who was required by the French and Italian courts, was arrested the day before yesterday at 8.47 a.m. when he left the Avenida del Libertador building and Ramallo and started walking. The detectives of the Federal Investigation of Fugitives and Extraditions Division of the Interpol Department of the Argentine Federal Police (PFA) had been on call day and night for over a week to be able to arrest him. They have been following in his footsteps for 18 months, exchanging information with their Italian colleagues.

As it has been said, Begic, born in Montenegro on March 29, 1975, he lived with his wife and two children. When he was caught by the PFA detectives, The jewelry thief had in his possession $ 57,600, € 870, $ 2,134, 2,000 guarantees and two cell phones..

“It wasn’t about moving a lot. But when he decided to leave the building where he lived, he was away for a few days “, said THE NATION a police detective.

Begic was wanted by the Italian and French judicial and police authorities. The last blow to the man called Eduardo René Díaz here happened in Milan. On this occasion, three criminals broke into the Paradiso luxury jewelry, where, at gunpoint, 20 watches were taken Rolex, Patek Philippe, Hamilton y Cartier, and two bracelets worth 200,000 euros each.

Spectacular tours

The thief arrested in Núñez, according to the sources of the investigation, was a member of the so-called criminal organization Pink Panther. The so-called Pink Panthers have starred in millionaire successes in jewelry stores in Europe.

To Begic, who came to live in Cannes, and to his accomplices They are condemned to a theft where they obtained a booty of 2,500,000 euros which they took away in two black bags. It was in 2005 in a jewelry store in Saint-Tropez. The millionaire coup lasted 75 seconds, and the thieves escaped by motorboat.

According to the French newspaper Release, an accomplice of Begic was arrested. He made a mistake that led him behind bars: in a bar a few meters from the jewelry store, he drank a soda and his DNA was left in the plastic straw. He was arrested shortly after in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands.

Instead, Begic escaped. He was sentenced in absentia in France to 15 years in prison. In 2016, he would have entered Argentina with a Ukrainian document in the name of Tymoffi Ivanenko.

“In Argentina, he found his wife, whom he would have met in Italy,” he told THE NATION a source who participated in the investigation.

Detectives from the Interpol office in Buenos Aires began investigating Begic’s footsteps in the country 18 months ago, when his colleagues in Italy discovered the suspect’s relationship with an Argentinian.

“The fugitive and the Argentinian woman would have met in Italy. She returned to Argentina and here they met again. From this investigation carried out by Italian colleagues, we started to follow in their footsteps in the country, ”said a police source.

There is no record of formal or informal employment for Begic in Argentina. His wife is said to have businesses related to the cosmetics industry.

A lot of money

“There is no indication that he was involved in any criminal act in Argentina. The existence of a criminal plan is also not known. He had a low profile and did not attract attention, ”added the police detectives consulted.

The amount of money the fugitive had in his possession at the time of his arrest caught the attention of Interpol staff. “It is not uncommon to come out with this amount of money from different countries,” explained the spokespersons consulted.

Begic’s extradition process is managed by the Federal Judge Sebastián Casanello.

The Pink Panthers are also assigned a robbery in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which took place in 2007. There, they broke into the Wafi mall at two Audis and went to a jewelry store where, in less in a minute, they made a loot of 8,000 people. . 000 dollars.

The criminal group, made up of former soldiers of the armed forces of the former Yugoslavia, acted and robbed in Monaco, France and Lausanne, Switzerland.