'Pink Panther' jewel thief breaks out of Swiss jail

GENEVA, July 26, 2013 (AFP) - A Bosnian from the “Pink Panther” gang of international jewel thieves escaped from a Swiss prison in a dramatic break-out involving a fellow inmate and two armed accomplices, police said Friday.

Milan Poparic, who was serving a sentence of almost seven years for a 2009 robbery at a jewellery store, is the third “Pink Panther” to escape from a Swiss prison since May.

Along with convicted Swiss kidnapper, arsonist and money-launderer Adrian Albrecht, Poparic broke out of the Orbe prison in western Switzerland on Thursday evening, local police said in a statement.

During an exercise period, the accomplices rammed a gate and barbed wire with a van, before using ladders to create an escape route across the prison's fence.