Almost all stolen diamonds recovered: Mumbai police

MUMBAI - Mumbai police have recovered almost all the diamonds that were stolen by four foreigners from a jewellery show earlier this week, a senior officer said Friday.

“Almost all the diamonds stolen have been recovered,” Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Himanshu Roy said.

“We had earlier recovered 1,641 pieces of diamonds, which were being couriered to Rome by hiding them inside clothes,” he said, adding: “We have also recovered another 245 diamonds from them (the accused) during interrogation,” Roy added.

Roy also mentioned that Mumbai police have learnt about a fifth accomplice in the heist.

“The fifth accomplice is a Venezuelan against whom an Interpol lookout notice has been issued. He was the one who tried to courier the diamonds to Rome,” he said.

Roy said the process of valuation and grading of the diamonds was on.

The gang was held in Dubai on Tuesday and brought to Mumbai two days later. The Mumbai police produced them in court earlier Friday and secured their 10-day custody.

Among the four arrested is a Mexican woman, Guerrero Lugo Elvia Grissel. The others are Gonzalez Maldonado Mauricio and Campos Molan Elias, both Mexicans, and a Venezuelan, Gutierez Orlando.

In a remand application before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate B.S. Bhambhade, Mumbai police sought their custody to get to the bottom of the conspiracy.

The four foreigners stole the diamonds from the India International Jewellery Show-2010 (IIJS-2010) in Mumbai Monday and fled to Dubai.

The suspects put the diamonds in small plastic bags before swallowing them. The Dubai police made them purge out the valuables after taking them into custody.

The case was cracked and the suspects identified after studying the CCTV footage and checking records of over 1,500 visitors to the IIJS-2010. The records at the immigration offices at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport were also checked.