THE net is closing in on a gang dubbed the “Peaky Blinders” after scores of high-value jewellery heists.
Flat-capped robbers stole £26.5million worth of gems at a fine art fair last summer.
CCTV showed four dressed like the BBC gangsters attacking the stand of London jeweller Symbolic & Chase in the Netherlands.
Three held off bystanders with guns while another smashed open a glass case with a sledgehammer.
They are believed to be part of the notorious “Pink Panther” collective.
Dutch police investigating the Peaky Blinders’ heist in Maastricht are now said to be closing in on a “group of suspects from the Balkans”, where the Pink Panthers originated.
Dutch investigator Arthur Brand, known as the Indiana Jones of the art world because of his prowess in tracking down stolen masterpieces, said: “It is a big, big breakthrough.
“I know the team working on it. They are very determined to catch these guys and they will.”
Europol are said to be probing links between the Dutch heist and around 160 robberies.
The Pink Panthers are suspected of £300million worth of heists in 25 years.