$50 Million in Diamonds Stolen at Brussels Airport
By Rob Bates, Reprinted from JCK Online
On Feb. 19, some $50 million in diamonds were stolen at the Brussels airport by four armed men posing as police officers, according to news reports and local sources.
The men bore a hole in an airport security fence, drove onto the tarmac with two cars, and then stole the diamonds from a plane waiting on the tarmac, according to the Facebook page of the Brussels airport.
“We have confirmation that the amount of polished and rough stolen is about $50 million,” says Karen Rentmeesters, communications officer for Antwerp World Diamond Centre. “The robbers took 120 packages from the airplane, which was coming from Antwerp and on its way to Zurich.”
The Brussels airport Facebook page stressed “there was no shooting and no one got injured.”
“The police have started a thorough investigation and the airport police are currently taking all the necessary actions,” the statement said. “This obviously was an armed robbery by a professional gang.”
Press contacts at the Brussels police and prosecutor’s office did not return a request for comment.
“It is a concern for us that the robbers, in a little over a few minutes. managed to get on the premises of the airport and back off,” adds Rentmeesters. “Ninety-nine percent of our trade goes through the airports. We think that the high level of security and strict measures that we implement in Antwerp should be the same at the airport.”