Twelve days ago, a high-level meeting in Athens brought together officers from the Greek Police, France’s BRB anti-robbery unit, and other international agencies to exchange intelligence on a spate of museum raids—cases that have gained new significance following what French media have dubbed the “heist of the century” at the Louvre.

Among the first topics on the agenda was the Sept. 16 theft of a five-kilogram gold nugget, roughly 30 centimeters long, from the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. The thieves reportedly sawed through an emergency exit, melted a display case with a blowtorch, and fled with the gold from the museum’s geology and mineralogy gallery.

Investigators also reviewed other recent museum burglaries, including the Oct. 6 theft of Bronze Age jewelry from the National History Museum in St Fagans, near Cardiff, and a 2024 robbery at Italy’s Vittoriale degli Italiani Museum. Authorities noted that such raids—both within and beyond Europe—have multiplied in recent months.

A key part of the discussion centered on the elusive “Pink Panthers,” an international jewel-theft syndicate composed largely of members from Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

With over 300 operatives and at least 500 heists attributed to them, the group is believed to remain active despite reports suggesting otherwise. Greek police have previously arrested several of its members for high-end jewelry store robberies targeting luxury watches, though the gang has never before struck a museum.

French investigators are now considering whether the Louvre robbery, notable for the use of an elevator vehicle and apparent insider knowledge, may signal a new phase in the Panthers’ operations.

The Athens meeting, known as the “Pink Diamond Conference,” was organized jointly by EUROPOL, EMPACT, and Greece’s equivalent of the FBI. The annual gathering focuses on combating transnational crime rings responsible for armed robberies and luxury thefts across Europe, sharing intelligence and strategies to counter an increasingly global criminal network.