Absence gets a million-dollar price tag for gem deal suspects

THE cost of an allegedly illegal diamond deal in which the Namibian Police’s Protected Resources Unit trapped two American nationals in November last year rose by a further N$500 000 for one of the gem deal suspects yesterday.

With illegal diamond dealing suspect Samuel Shapiro still not present in the dock as his case returned to the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court for the fourth time in five weeks, Magistrate Helvi Shilemba yesterday ordered that his bail be cancelled finally and that the N$500 000 that he had deposited to be released on bail be finally forfeited to the State. The Magistrate made this order a week after she had reserved her ruling on a request from Public Prosecutor Ingrid Husselmann to have Shapiro’s bail finally cancelled and forfeited to the State because of his continued failure to appear in court on the dates that the case against him and a co-accused, Daniel Baruchov, had been postponed to.Baruchov’s bail, also of N$500 000, was finally cancelled and forfeited to the State on June 19, after he, too, had failed to return to Namibia to make further court appearances in the case.The two men are accused of having bought uncut diamonds worth N$1,2 million from an undercover Police agent in Windhoek on November 16 last year.The latest plea from Shapiro to be granted a further postponement of his case in his absence failed to persuade the Magistrate not to order the forfeiture of his bail yesterday.Shapiro has sent medical certificates from Israel and New York, where he and Baruchov live, to Namibia to vouch for his claims that he is too ill at this stage to travel to Namibia to appear in court.Baruchov has informed the court through his lawyers that he thought it would be a waste of money to travel to Namibia only to be present in court for an inevitable further postponement of the case because of the absence of his ill co-accused.Yesterday, the two men’s lawyer, Irvin Titus, tried in vain for a last time to convince the Magistrate not to order the final forfeiture of Shapiro’s bail.He handed a copy of an e-mail message that Shapiro had sent him on Friday, to the Magistrate and told her that in his message Shapiro again indicated the sincerity of his wish to return to Namibia in order to stand his trial once he has recovered from a kidney ailment that he is being treated for.In the message, Shapiro related that he and Baruchov had first travelled to Namibia some 18 months ago to investigate the possibilities of importing hake fish from Namibia.They were staying at the Windhoek Country Club Hotel, where they met a certain “Mr Polaro”, who told them that he was a partner in a diamond factory and that he was looking for another partner to buy into the business.They were shown “all kinds of licences” indicating that “Mr Polaro” was allowed to buy, sell and export diamonds, according to Shapiro.Eventually, having visited Namibia five or six times without closing an agreement on the supposed diamond cutting plant partnership, they decided to call off the deal, Shapiro related.The supposed Mr Polaro then started contacting them by telephone and e-mail in the United States, trying to entice them to return to Namibia and claiming “that we could get diamonds right away and the factory can start working”, Shapiro wrote.”We didn’t really want to come but he kept pressuring us and insisting that we come,” he related.”We did not suspect anything and so we fell in and the rest is history.In the trap, we lost US$125 000 plus $30 000 we gave him directly for all kinds of expenses in the last 18 months plus $20 000 for expenses to travel here.It’s a huge amount that we lost.”Shapiro, asking the court to have mercy and understanding, concluded: “I am ready to plead guilty that I bought the diamonds even though we were sure with the intention that he had the proper license and we should start to manufacture diamonds in the factory.”(sic) The Prosecutor-General instructed in late May that Baruchov and Shapiro should go on trial in the Windhoek Regional Court, where they should face a charge of receiving or buying unpolished diamonds and a count of possessing unpolished diamonds.They are accused of having bought or received 19 unpolished diamonds, weighing 76,13 carats and valued at some N$1,2 million, without a licence in Windhoek on November 16 last year.They also are accused of having had three uncut diamonds, weighing 13,06 carats and valued at N$36 627, in their possession without a licence on the same day.The two men allegedly paid N$600 000 and US$15 000 (about N$105 000) for the stones that an undercover Police agent offered to them for sale.The Police also confiscated this money when the trap that had been set for the two men went over into surprise arrests.They were handed back their US passports to enable them to return to the US after their initial bail of N$300 000 had been increased to N$500 000 on November 22 last year.The Magistrate made this order a week after she had reserved her ruling on a request from Public Prosecutor Ingrid Husselmann to have Shapiro’s bail finally cancelled and forfeited to the State because of his continued failure to appear in court on the dates that the case against him and a co-accused, Daniel Baruchov, had been postponed to.Baruchov’s bail, also of N$500 000, was finally cancelled and forfeited to the State on June 19, after he, too, had failed to return to Namibia to make further court appearances in the case.The two men are accused of having bought uncut diamonds worth N$1,2 million from an undercover Police agent in Windhoek on November 16 last year.The latest plea from Shapiro to be granted a further postponement of his case in his absence failed to persuade the Magistrate not to order the forfeiture of his bail yesterday.Shapiro has sent medical certificates from Israel and New York, where he and Baruchov live, to Namibia to vouch for his claims that he is too ill at this stage to travel to Namibia to appear in court.Baruchov has informed the court through his lawyers that he thought it would be a waste of money to travel to Namibia only to be present in court for an inevitable further postponement of the case because of the absence of his ill co-accused.Yesterday, the two men’s lawyer, Irvin Titus, tried in vain for a last time to convince the Magistrate not to order the final forfeiture of Shapiro’s bail.He handed a copy of an e-mail message that Shapiro had sent him on Friday, to the Magistrate and told her that in his message Shapiro again indicated the sincerity of his wish to return to Namibia in order to stand his trial once he has recovered from a kidney ailment that he is being treated for.In the message, Shapiro related that he and Baruchov had first travelled to Namibia some 18 months ago to investigate the possibilities of importing hake fish from Namibia.They were staying at the Windhoek Country Club Hotel, where they met a certain “Mr Polaro”, who told them that he was a partner in a diamond factory and that he was looking for another partner to buy into the business.They were shown “all kinds of licences” indicating that “Mr Polaro” was allowed to buy, sell and export diamonds, according to Shapiro.Eventually, having visited Namibia five or six times without closing an agreement on the supposed diamond cutting plant partnership, they decided to call off the deal, Shapiro related.The supposed Mr Polaro then started contacting them by telephone and e-mail in the United States, trying to entice them to return to Namibia and claiming “that we could get diamonds right away and the factory can start working”, Shapiro wrote.”We didn’t really want to come but he kept pressuring us and insisting that we come,” he related.”We did not suspect anything and so we fell in and the rest is history.In the trap, we lost US$125 000 plus $30 000 we gave him directly for all kinds of expenses in the last 18 months plus $20 000 for expenses to travel here.It’s a huge amount that we lost.”Shapiro, asking the court to have mercy and understanding, concluded: “I am ready to plead guilty that I bought the diamonds even though we were sure with the intention th
at he had the proper license and we should start to manufacture diamonds in the factory.”(sic) The Prosecutor-General instructed in late May that Baruchov and Shapiro should go on trial in the Windhoek Regional Court, where they should face a charge of receiving or buying unpolished diamonds and a count of possessing unpolished diamonds.They are accused of having bought or received 19 unpolished diamonds, weighing 76,13 carats and valued at some N$1,2 million, without a licence in Windhoek on November 16 last year.They also are accused of having had three uncut diamonds, weighing 13,06 carats and valued at N$36 627, in their possession without a licence on the same day.The two men allegedly paid N$600 000 and US$15 000 (about N$105 000) for the stones that an undercover Police agent offered to them for sale.The Police also confiscated this money when the trap that had been set for the two men went over into surprise arrests.They were handed back their US passports to enable them to return to the US after their initial bail of N$300 000 had been increased to N$500 000 on November 22 last year.