Nov 3, 2011

Brazilian Diamond Merchant Detained

Brazilian Diamond Merchant Detained
by Michael Hone

Cache of undeclared gems found hidden on body

GENEVA, Switzerland – A Brazilian precious stones dealer was arrested Wednesday, according to Swiss customs. The man, whose behavior was considered strange, was detained yesterday by customs agents at the Geneva train station, where he had just arrived from Paris.

Cache of Diamonds

Cache of Diamonds (not the actual stash)

The agents searched the dealer and found hundreds of diamonds hidden in small pouches affixed to his lower legs under his trousers. Customs agents discovered four pearls of 23 carats and 750 white diamonds, as well as several pieces of jewelry, with a total estimated value of $70,000 U.S.

The man said he purchased the cache of diamonds, pearls and jewelry in Belguim and wanted to return to Brazil passing through Switzerland. He returned home to Brazil on Wednesday night, but had to pay a fine of about $5,800 U.S. and post bail in the same amount. The bail can be recovered after legal proceedings for failure to declare is adjudicated.

Read also: Related Stories

Read also: More Articles from Brazil Dispatch

Brazilian online news source for this article: terra.com.br

Do you like this post? Please link back to this article by copying one of the codes below.

HTML link code:

0 comments:

Post a Comment