Police in southern France have arrested a suspected member of the notorious “Pink Panther” gang of jewel thieves.  The man had been on the run since he escaped from a Swiss prison three months ago.

Officers raided the suspect’s home in Montpellier, and stopped the 47-year old man before he could escape out of the window.

Authorities aren’t naming the suspect.  But they do say he has a colorful history with the Pink Panther gang, an international band of jewel thieves known for their daring robberies and burglaries that have netted more than A$375 Million over ten years.  They’re believed to be the most successful jewel thieves in history.

The gang was formed out of survivors of the Balkans Wars of the 1990s, and the suspect is originally from Montenegro but now has French and Macedonian citizenship.  He’s also a former member of the French Foreign Legion.

But he’s also wanted in at least two other countries including Switzerland, where authorities say he and a group of other men escaped from the Bois-Mermet prison, near Lausanne, using weapons and tools passed to them from accomplices on the outside.

Police are hoping the man might be able to provide tip-offs about a recent flurry of jewel heists in Cannes and Nice.