Diamonds were stolen from Brussels Airport recently. Ross Cannon reports…
On Monday 16 February armed men made off with a precious haul of diamonds from Brussels Airport.
Eight heavily armed men, dressed as police officers broke through a perimeter fence using two black vehicles with flashing police lights. The Swiss bound plane had just finished unloading packets of valuable uncut diamonds as the two vehicles made straight for the Helvetic Airways passenger plane.
The stolen diamonds are thought to amount to €37 million, but the Belgian state broadcaster reported the amount to be closer to €350 million.
The men unloaded the diamonds from the cargo hold and piled them into the waiting vehicles. No shots were fired and nobody was injured. The men fled at high speed through the hole which they had entered.
The Brussels prosecutor spokeswoman, Ana Bijnens said; “It was incredible how easy it all went.”
The robbery is thought to have taken no more than several minutes.
It is thought that the men had extremely well placed knowledge of the airport. Brussels Airport has a strong police presence with police patrols constantly circling the airport’s perimeter.
Doron Levy,, an expert in airport security at a French risk management company said “I am certain this was an inside job” and added that this heist was beyond the means of all but the most experienced and strong-nerved criminals.
Belgian authorities recovered a burnt out van close to scene, and are still on the hunt for the audacious robbers.
Photo via wikimedia commons.
