PARIS - MONACO police have arrested two alleged members of an international gang of jewel thieves dubbed the 'Pink Panthers' that is suspected of heists worth more than 100 million euros (about S$200 million), Interpol said on Friday.

A 27-year-old Serbian and Bosnian national Dusko Poznan, 30, were arrested on Wednesday after a police officer identified one of them from a photograph circulated by Interpol, the global police body said in a statement.

'Both are thought to be part of a transnational crime group dubbed the 'Pink Panthers' which is linked to at least 100 high-value armed robberies in nearly 20 countries,' it said.

One of the men was arrested after he was involved in a car accident and was recognised by a police officer who went to the hospital to take his statement. The second suspect was arrested shortly afterwards.

The pair are wanted by several states, including Switzerland and the tiny European principality of Liechtenstein.

Interpol said in June that a number of jewel heists over the past nine years, ranging from Tokyo to Dubai to Liechtenstein, were the work of a loosely organised group of around 200 people. -- REUTERS

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