631 diamonds stolen from mining vessels

SIX hundred and thirty one unpolished diamonds have been stolen from De Beers Marine Namibia mining vessels off the Oranjemund coast.

Two parcels containing the gems were found concealed under a seat in a helicopter carrying 10 employees on a regular crew change from three of its vessels – the Ya Toivo, !Gariep and Debmar Atlantic – to the mining town on Thursday afternoon. Four of the employees are due to appear in court today on charges of unlawfully possessing diamonds.The company conducts random searches of hired helicopters it uses to transport its employees to sea.Thursday’s search by Namdeb security and the Police’s Protective Resource Unit was conducted at the request of De Beers Marine Namibia.The helicopter was told to divert from the Oranjemund airport and instead land at a security area within Namdeb’s Personnel Control Centre.Diamonds of the type found by the authorities are valued at roughly US$340 per carat.The estimated value of the diamonds is believed to run into millions.Police spokesperson Deputy Commissioner Hophni Hamufungu said on Friday that it was not yet possible to say with certainty how many carats the packages contained and that the stones still had to be assessed by a diamond valuator.This is the second incident in the past two weeks in which gems have been found on board these helicopters.According to the Police, about 45 stones were found concealed in a similar manner two weeks ago.They were found on a helicopter being cleaned at the Oranjemund airport.Approached for comment, De Beers Marine Namibia spokesperson Daniel Kali said random searches of helicopters were often prompted by operational intelligence and were carried out at the discretion of the company.The company declined to comment further, saying that the discovery of the “suspicious diamonds” was the subject of a Police investigation.Four of the employees are due to appear in court today on charges of unlawfully possessing diamonds. The company conducts random searches of hired helicopters it uses to transport its employees to sea. Thursday’s search by Namdeb security and the Police’s Protective Resource Unit was conducted at the request of De Beers Marine Namibia. The helicopter was told to divert from the Oranjemund airport and instead land at a security area within Namdeb’s Personnel Control Centre. Diamonds of the type found by the authorities are valued at roughly US$340 per carat. The estimated value of the diamonds is believed to run into millions. Police spokesperson Deputy Commissioner Hophni Hamufungu said on Friday that it was not yet possible to say with certainty how many carats the packages contained and that the stones still had to be assessed by a diamond valuator. This is the second incident in the past two weeks in which gems have been found on board these helicopters. According to the Police, about 45 stones were found concealed in a similar manner two weeks ago. They were found on a helicopter being cleaned at the Oranjemund airport. Approached for comment, De Beers Marine Namibia spokesperson Daniel Kali said random searches of helicopters were often prompted by operational intelligence and were carried out at the discretion of the company. The company declined to comment further, saying that the discovery of the “suspicious diamonds” was the subject of a Police investigation.