Suspect in 2007 Ginza jewelry heist arrested in Cyprus+

TOKYO, March 28 Kyodo - A suspect on an international wanted list for a 2007 jewelry heist in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district has been arrested by police in Cyprus, Japanese police said Saturday.

The Metropolitan Police Department said it has been informed by the Cypriot
authorities of the arrest of Rifat Hadziahmetovic, 40, from Montenegro, who is
a member of an international robbery group dubbed the ''Pink Panthers.'' He is
one of two suspects the Japanese police have put on an international wanted
list in connection with the case.
The department, which has been working with Interpol, said it is planning to
seek the transfer of his custody from the Cypriot government.
Hadziahmetovic was arrested on March 18 for allegedly holding a fake Bulgarian
passport when he was leaving Cyprus for Lebanon, according to the department.
The Japanese police put Hadziahmetovic on Interpol's wanted list in February
along with Radovan Jelusic, 38, for stealing a diamond tiara worth 200 million
yen and a necklace worth 84 million yen from Exelco Diamond in Ginza, after
spraying tear gas at shop clerks in June 2007.
==Kyodo
2009-03-28 22:31:02