Dubai: The Dubai Police has successfully recovered an exceptionally rare pink diamond worth US$ 25 million that was stolen by a three-member gang and being smuggled out of the country. The thieves were arrested within eight hours of the crime in an operation aptly named ‘Pink Diamond’.
According to the police, the gang had been plotting for over a year to steal the rare diamond, which is certified by a leading gemological institute and has a unique purity rating. The possibility of finding another stone of that quality is 0.01%.
The modus operandi adopted by the criminals involved identifying the diamond’s owner – a jeweller – and deceiving him into believing that a wealthy buyer was interested in purchasing it. To establish credibility, the thieves posed as wealthy individuals, renting luxury cars and arranging meetings at upscale hotels. They eventually persuaded the jeweller to move the diamond out of his secure shop, enabling them to steal it.
Using advanced technologies, Dubai Police CID teams identified the three suspects, all of Asian nationality, tracked their locations, and arrested them — ensuring the diamond was safely recovered before it could be smuggled out of the country in a small refrigerator bound for an Asian destination.
The pink diamond is classified as Fancy Intense and weighs 21.25 carats. It boasts exceptional clarity, symmetry, and polish, with an ‘Excellent’ rating. Its extraordinary value and rarity made it a prime target, prompting the gang’s elaborate efforts over an extended period.
The police revealed that the merchant had imported the diamond from a European country to sell in Dubai. The gang had closely monitored its arrival and devised a sophisticated plan to steal it, posing as wealthy intermediaries representing a potential buyer. The gang scheduled multiple meetings with the merchant and even hired a renowned diamond expert to authenticate the gem, further persuading the merchant of their seriousness.
Eventually, the gang 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.
As soon as the theft was reported, a specialised task force was formed to identify and locate the three suspects, who had initially lived together but separated after the heist and moved to different locations. Police teams raided these locations simultaneously, apprehended the suspects, and recovered the diamond before it could leave the country.
The jeweller called the police’s swift response as ‘astonishing,’ saying their speed and professionalism gave him immediate confidence the case would be resolved.
‘To my surprise, the very next morning, they called to say the suspects had been arrested and the diamond recovered,’ he said.
