Diamond heist in Brussels a professional job, official says valued at $50 million

[yota691]

Diamond heist in Brussels a professional job, official says The robbers struck at the airport, taking a shipment of diamonds from Antwerp valued at $50 million.

A Helvetic Airways jetliner remains on the tarmac at Brussels' international airport after armed robbers stole a shipment of diamonds that had just been loaded into the hold (Yves Logghe, Associated Press / February 19, 2013)

By Kim Willsher, Los Angeles Times

 

February 19, 2013, 3:56 p.m.

 

PARIS — In barely five minutes, thieves in Belgium pulled off one of the most spectacular and dramatic diamond heists in years.

A Helvetic Airways jet on the tarmac at Brussels Airport was preparing for takeoff to Switzerland shortly before 8 p.m. Monday. The passengers were on board, the bags were in the hold, the doors were closed and the crew was going through the last safety checks.

Brinks security guards had just finished transferring a consignment of cut and uncut diamonds worth an estimated $50 million from their armored vehicle to the plane. Suddenly, what appeared to be two police vehicles — one of them a Mercedes van — roared up, blue lights flashing.

Eight men wearing police uniforms leaped out, armed with guns and faces covered by balaclavas. The men forced open the door of the plane's hold and removed about 120 parcels.

As quickly as they had arrived, the gunmen sped away through a hole in a security fence and were gone. Police later found the van, abandoned and burned out, near the airport.

No shots were fired and nobody was injured in the assault, which lasted just five minutes, Ine Van Wymersch of the Brussels prosecutor's office said Tuesday, and "the passengers saw nothing."

"They obviously wanted everyone to think they were police officers," Van Wymersch said. "This wasn't just a chance robbery. It was well planned by professionals."

Investigators suspect that the gang had an accomplice at the airport, the Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws reported.

The aircraft scheduled for the flight to Zurich was operated by Helvetic Airways, a partner of Swiss International Air Lines. The flight was canceled after the robbery.

Investigators have refused to give a precise value for the haul.

"It was mostly diamonds. As far as we know there was no gold," Anja Bijnens, another prosecuting official, told reporters.

According to the World Diamond Center in Antwerp, Belgium, which represents the city's jewel traders, the value of the stolen diamonds was at least $50 million.

"These were raw and cut diamonds from Antwerp heading for Zurich and Switzerland," Caroline de Wolf, WDC spokeswoman, told the Agence France-Presse news agency. It was one of the "biggest thefts of diamonds in recent years," she said.

De Wolf refused to say who owned the diamonds.

"It's worrying that something like this could happen somewhere like an airport, that an armed gang could get on to the tarmac like this when around $200 million worth of diamonds leaves Antwerp every day," she said.

Antwerp has been a leading diamond center for centuries, with about 8 in 10 rough diamonds and 5 in 10 polished diamonds passing through it.

In 2003, Antwerp was the scene of one of the biggest diamond thefts in history, when thieves took precious stones, jewels and gold from the high-security vaults at the diamond center. Police estimated that haul at more than $98 million.

"This is causing quite some unrest," De Wolf said. "It was incredible how easy it all went. This is worrying in terms of competitiveness, since other diamond centers are ready to pounce and take over our position."

An airport spokesman, Jan Van Der Cruysse, told reporters that officials believed the thieves had cut the hole in the perimeter fence. He was unable to explain how the area could be so vulnerable.

"We abide by the most stringent [security] rules," Van Der Cruysse said, "and meet all the requirements." http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-belgium-heist-20130220,0,1574124.story

 

[haymon]

Sounds like a movie is coming next. Starring??

[SnowGlobe7]

it was me...diamonds are a gals best friend!!!

 

signed 

 

cat buglar

 

 

PS sorry but I gave up on the RV...better chance of getting away with this then Iraq and an RV

Edited February 20, 2013 by SnowGlobe7

[JREDinars]

Starring Jason Statham as the heist leader/coordinator and Liam Neeson who had to go on the "take" to save his family. Just an idea.

[umbertino]

Sounds like they were real pro's......No shooting, no wounded, super fast...Great job ( in that perspective).

[yota691]

Mole mastermind' sought for 'perfect' Brussels diamond heist The Brussels diamond heist was "so perfect" that Belgian police investigators are seeking a mole who gave secret information on airport security and the movement of valuable cargo to the armed gang.

The Helvetic Airways aircraft from which millions' of dollars worth of diamonds were stolen on the tarmac of Brussels international airport Photo: AP

 

By Bruno Waterfield, Brussels

10:57AM GMT 20 Feb 2013

 

 

Robbers took only two minutes and 50 seconds to carry out the heist and the precision timing could only have been based on accurate and detailed leaks.

The heavily armed gang knew that an access gate was not locked and construction work meant that they could easily cut through a second security perimeter fence.

After entering the perimeter, the gang waited for up to eight minutes for the consignment to be unloaded from an armoured Brinks security van before launching the raid.

The robbers then displayed a working knowledge of how to open the Swiss Fokker 100 airliner's cargo hatch in just a few seconds, the place where the diamond consignment was at most vulnerable in a 5 minute period before the plane taxied to take-off.

"There is a gap of only a few minutes," said Caroline De Wolf, a spokeswoman for the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, where the shipment of gems originated. "The people who did this knew there was going to be this gap and when."

 

Investigators also believe that the robbers had received military training because of the "iron discipline" shown during the raid during which not a shot was fired or a blow struck against pilots, ground staff or the Brinks guards.

The total value of 120 packets of stolen diamonds still not known as Brinks contacts its clients to gauge the full extent of losses which are currently estimated by Antwerp dealers at $50 million (£32 million).

The Antwerp World Diamond Centre estimates that every day gems worth £131 million (€150m) pass through Brussels airport.

The raid at Zaventem international airport is one of the biggest diamond robberies in history.

Wearing masks, hooded police anoraks and armed with machine guns equipped with laser sights, the robbers struck at 7.47pm local time on Monday night.

After cutting through a security perimeter fence within a few hundred metres of Helvetica Airways flight LX789, the robbers used two black vehicles, a Mercedes van and an Audi car both equipped with blue flashing police lights, to race across the airport tarmac.

Coming to a halt alongside the Brink's van and the passenger jet, four armed men left each vehicle and held up the aircraft's pilot, co-pilot ground staff and security guards. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belgium/9882462/Mole-mastermind-sought-for-perfect-Brussels-diamond-heist.html