Spectacular diamond robbery in Belgium: trial ends with impunity
The lawyers at the start of the 2018 trial for the diamond robbery at Brussels airport
Image: dpa
In February 2013, eight heavily armed men stole €37 million worth of diamonds that were about to be loaded onto a plane. All suspects have now been acquitted due to lack of evidence.
Ene of the most spectacular robberies in Belgian history has ended with no punishment. The Court of Appeal in the capital Brussels acquitted the last four accused on Wednesday, as reported by the Belga news agency. The investigation results are not sufficient to prove the suspects involvement in the robbery, it said.
In February 2013, eight heavily armed men broke through a fence at Brussels airport and stole, among other things, 120 packages of diamonds that were about to be loaded from a security van onto a plane.
The loot was officially estimated at 37 million euros, in the media there was talk of up to 300 million. Two months later, police arrested more than 30 suspects in raids in Belgium, France and Switzerland.
In May 2018, all 18 suspects were acquitted in the first instance for lack of evidence. The public prosecutor’s office appealed four of the judgments to the Court of Appeal.
