Diamond heist leads to dozens of detentions
Source: Agencies |
May 9, 2013, Thursday
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Print Edition
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AUTHORITIES in Europe claimed a major breakthrough yesterday in their investigation of a spectacular US$50 million diamond heist, detaining at least 31 people in a three-nation sweep some three months after robbers pulled off the theft with clockwork precision at Brussels Airport in Belgium.
A Frenchman who is believed to have been one of the actual robbers at the airport was arrested in France, while six to eight people were detained in Geneva, and 24 in and around Brussels. Police did not indicate what the other suspects' roles might have been.
What's more, police say they have proof that diamonds found in Switzerland were part of the cache that was spirited away in the brazen February 18 robbery that ranks among the biggest diamond heists of recent times.
After two months of investigation on some of the suspects, police moved in. Suspects in France and Switzerland were detained on Tuesday, and the following day Belgian police carried out a massive operation, with 250 police involved in 40 house searches.
"In Switzerland, we have found diamonds that we can already say are coming from the heist, and in Belgium large amounts of money have been found. And the investigation is still ongoing," said Jean-Marc Meilleur, a spokesman for the Brussels prosecutor's office. He said police had also found luxury cars.
Meilleur was scant on detail, yielding no clues how police got on the trail of the suspects. Authorities were expected to announce later how many of the detainees would be charged and arrested.
In Geneva, a police statement said "a very important quantity of diamonds was seized" during the sweep "coming from the spectacular heist at Brussels airport." While Belgian authorities spoke of six detentions in Switzerland, Geneva police put it at eight, including a businessman and a lawyer.
A Frenchman who is believed to have been one of the actual robbers at the airport was arrested in France, while six to eight people were detained in Geneva, and 24 in and around Brussels. Police did not indicate what the other suspects' roles might have been.
What's more, police say they have proof that diamonds found in Switzerland were part of the cache that was spirited away in the brazen February 18 robbery that ranks among the biggest diamond heists of recent times.
After two months of investigation on some of the suspects, police moved in. Suspects in France and Switzerland were detained on Tuesday, and the following day Belgian police carried out a massive operation, with 250 police involved in 40 house searches.
"In Switzerland, we have found diamonds that we can already say are coming from the heist, and in Belgium large amounts of money have been found. And the investigation is still ongoing," said Jean-Marc Meilleur, a spokesman for the Brussels prosecutor's office. He said police had also found luxury cars.
Meilleur was scant on detail, yielding no clues how police got on the trail of the suspects. Authorities were expected to announce later how many of the detainees would be charged and arrested.
In Geneva, a police statement said "a very important quantity of diamonds was seized" during the sweep "coming from the spectacular heist at Brussels airport." While Belgian authorities spoke of six detentions in Switzerland, Geneva police put it at eight, including a businessman and a lawyer.
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