4 – Harry Winston Jewelry Store in 2007 & 2008 ($100 Million+)
Not content with carrying out a daring raid on a Harry Winston jewelry store in Paris in 2007, eight thieves completed a second theft at the same location just one year later. The gang were members of the notorious Pink Panthers group (named after the series of comedy movies) and perpetrated their first theft in October 2007. On that occasion, four armed men dressed as decorators entered the store at around 10:00 a.m. and forced the manager to deactivate alarms and open safes. Within 30 minutes, they left with hundreds of items of jewelry worth over $30 million.
Most people would be delighted to escape scot-free with such a huge haul, but whether they were motivated by greed or simply the adrenaline rush of planning and completing a heist, they returned to the same store on December 4, 2008. On this occasion, four men entered the store (two were dressed as women) and pulled out handguns. There is a suggestion that a security guard helped the gang on both occasions.
Within 20 minutes, the gang left with an estimated $70 million worth of jewelry. Detectives referred to the spectacular theft as the ‘heist of the century, ‘ but on this occasion, the gang did not disappear into the wind. Police discovered 19 rings in a plastic box encased in a concrete mold down the rainwater drain of the home of Douadi Yahiaoui. He was a suspect in the crimes and police tracked him down to the northern Parisian suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis. Doudou, as he is known, was a career criminal and served over 20 years in prison for drug offenses and robbery.
An estimated 25 people have been arrested since the crime took place, and in 2015 the eight men directly involved in the theft were jailed. The sentences ranged from eight months to 15 years. Doudou was supposedly the mastermind, and he received the longest sentence.