Dubai Police Arrest 3 In $25 Million Pink Diamond Heist

Forbes

16 hours ago

Details of the $25 million 21.25-carat fancy intense pink diamond that was stolen and recovered in Dubai Dubai Police
Dubai Police said it caught three persons Monday trying to leave the country just eight hours after stealing a rare and valuable pink diamond in an elaborate scheme that took approximately a year to execute.
The fancy intense pink diamond weighs 21.25-carat and has a value of $25 million, according to the statement from the Government of Dubai Media Office.
The dealer who had possession of the diamond has operated in Dubai since 2005, according to the statement.
Calling it 'Operation Pink Diamond,' Dubai police said the three alleged thieves spent about a year trying to steal the precious gem. The plan, according to police, was to locate the diamond's owner, who was not identified, and deceive him into believing that a wealthy buyer was interested in purchasing it. To establish credibility, the suspects posed as wealthy individuals by renting luxury cars and arranging meetings at upscale hotels, eventually persuading the dealer to move the diamond out of his secure store, enabling them to steal it, police said.
Police said its criminal investigation team foiled the plan 'in eight hours' by 'leveraging advanced technologies' to track the locations of the thieves and arrest them. The three alleged thieves were of Asian nationality, according to police, but were otherwise unidentified. The pink diamond was safely recovered before it could be smuggled out of the country in a small refrigerator bound for an Asian destination that police did not identify.
The pink diamond has 'exceptional clarity, symmetry, and polish,' police said, adding that 'its extraordinary value and rarity made it a prime target.'
Dubai Police revealed that the merchant had imported the diamond from a European country to sell in Dubai. The thieves had closely monitored its arrival and devised a sophisticated plan to steal it, posing as wealthy intermediaries representing a potential buyer, police said.
The alleged thieves scheduled multiple meetings with the merchant, rented high-end cars and met him at luxury hotels to convince him of their credibility.
'They even hired a renowned diamond expert to authenticate the gem, further persuading the merchant of their seriousness,' according to the police statement.
The three alleged thieves lured the merchant to a villa under the pretext of introducing him to the 'buyer.' Once the diamond was brought out, they nabbed it and fled, police said.
As soon as the merchant reported the theft, Dubai police said they formed a specialized task force to identify and locate the three suspects. The suspects had initially lived together but separated after the heist and moved to different locations. Dubai Police said its teams raided these locations simultaneously, apprehending the suspects and recovering the diamond before it could leave the country.
The pink diamond's owner described Dubai Police's swift response as 'astonishing,' according to the statement.
After calling the 999 emergency number, the dealer said in the government statement that multiple patrols 'arrived within minutes, began the investigation and offered constant reassurance.'
'To my surprise, the very next morning, they called to say the suspects had been arrested and the diamond recovered,' the diamond dealer said.
The dealer reportedly said he admitted being caught off guard by the scheme and urged others in the industry to follow official safety guidelines set by Dubai, according to the police statement.