Armed Thieves Snatch $50 Million of Uncut Diamonds off Airport Tarmac in 'Highly Professional' Heist

At 7:50 p.m. on Monday night, a Brink's armored truck on the Tarmac at Brussels Airport was loading a shipment of uncut diamonds onto a 8:10 Zurich-bound Helvetic Airlines flight. At 7:54 p.m., the diamonds were gone. What happened in between was "one of the biggest" diamond heists ever: a gang of eight thieves, apparently in dark clothing meant to resemble police uniforms and armed with "machine guns," drove through the airport fence in two vehicles, flashed their weapons at guards, seized the diamonds from the airport's cargo hold, and sped off. One of the vehicles was later found burned out nearby. "This was undoubtedly a highly professional job," a Belgian police source told the Evening Standard. The uncut diamonds, lacking certificates, will likely be unrecovered. The passengers on the Helvetic jet were apparently completely unaware that the heist was occurring a few yards away. [AFP | BBC | Telegraph | Evening Standard]