Police were left red faced after arresting two Russian men on suspicion of attempting to smuggle valuable diamonds which later turned out to be high quality pieces of glass.
According to Politis newspaper, a Russian man with a Cypriot passport was arrested as he attempted to catch a flight to Dubai at Larnaca Airport last week when customs officials found a purse in his luggage containing 23 glass diamonds (which were actually fake).
During questioning the man said he was given the purse to transport to a jewellery shop in Dubai and said he had no idea he was carrying diamonds. He called Dubai and notified his associate who flew straight to Cyprus to sort matters out.
However, upon arrival on the island he was also placed under arrest and the following day both men were remanded before Larnaca District Court on suspicion of being members of an international diamond trafficking operation. Police investigators in court said they used a diamond testing machine on the stones and sought the opinion of local jewellery shop owners in order to confirm they were the real thing.
The ‘suspects’ appeared before court for another hearing spending a total of four days in custody. During the first hearing investigators said the diamonds had an estimated value of €400,000 and later during the next hearing after getting a second opinion said they were worth €200,000. The suspects were eventually let go after police received another assessment from an expert who confirmed the stones were in fact replica diamonds made of high quality glass which although expensive – around €1,500 – are nothing compared to cost of genuine diamond. Investigators later confirmed that the replicas were headed to a jewellery shop in Dubai where they were destined to be placed in a window display.
Cyprus Weekly