New Delhi: Last week, as two men approached the green channel at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, police intercepted them. They were thoroughly frisked and their baggage subjected to minute scanning. It was then that the police noticed that one of the men held on to a power bank. It seemed to weigh a lot for a small power-supply device. When the cops probed its innards, out tumbled 493 pieces of rough diamonds.
The rocks were being smuggled in from Congo, an exporter of 8% of the world's diamonds, by a jewel merchant from Surat and a professional smuggler who had been living in Africa for 15 years now. And seeing that the stones were not Kimberly Process-certified, or documented as not having been mined in conflict zones, they could only have been blood diamonds.
After the police team led by Karan Thapar, deputy commissioner (Customs), spoiled the pair's plans, the customs department seized the 493 stones, but has not been able to estimate their total worth. However, officials said this could be the most expensive cache every seized in the history of Indian customs. "The case is the first of its kind," said one of them. " A gem evaluator in Mumbai will assess the real value of these stones. We believe that once processed, each piece could cost lakhs of rupees."
Giving details of the arrested men, a customs officer said, "One of them admitted to being involved in smuggling cases in the past. He lived in Congo and was being assisted by the Surat merchant in identifying the higher valued of the rough diamonds. The duo conceded that these diamonds were not Kimberly Process certified, which means their origins are suspicious. We cannot rule out their being blood diamonds."
He added that the merchant had planned to process the rough stones in his workshop in Surat, after which distinguishing between legitimate diamonds and these would well nigh have been impossible.
Under existing rules, a person can bring diamonds in commercial quantities into India, but not through the passenger route. One has to follow the process of import of diamonds through specific "precious cargo" complexes across the country.There are cargo centres for this purpose and the importer or carrier must have proper documents for the import. A Kimberley Process certificate is a must, especially for diamonds sourced from the African continent.
The rocks were being smuggled in from Congo, an exporter of 8% of the world's diamonds, by a jewel merchant from Surat and a professional smuggler who had been living in Africa for 15 years now. And seeing that the stones were not Kimberly Process-certified, or documented as not having been mined in conflict zones, they could only have been blood diamonds.
After the police team led by Karan Thapar, deputy commissioner (Customs), spoiled the pair's plans, the customs department seized the 493 stones, but has not been able to estimate their total worth. However, officials said this could be the most expensive cache every seized in the history of Indian customs. "The case is the first of its kind," said one of them. " A gem evaluator in Mumbai will assess the real value of these stones. We believe that once processed, each piece could cost lakhs of rupees."
Giving details of the arrested men, a customs officer said, "One of them admitted to being involved in smuggling cases in the past. He lived in Congo and was being assisted by the Surat merchant in identifying the higher valued of the rough diamonds. The duo conceded that these diamonds were not Kimberly Process certified, which means their origins are suspicious. We cannot rule out their being blood diamonds."
He added that the merchant had planned to process the rough stones in his workshop in Surat, after which distinguishing between legitimate diamonds and these would well nigh have been impossible.
Under existing rules, a person can bring diamonds in commercial quantities into India, but not through the passenger route. One has to follow the process of import of diamonds through specific "precious cargo" complexes across the country.There are cargo centres for this purpose and the importer or carrier must have proper documents for the import. A Kimberley Process certificate is a must, especially for diamonds sourced from the African continent.