Arrests in Brussels Airport Robbery

Belgian authorities recently announced that 31 people were arrested in connection with diamond robbery at Brussels Airport, which took place on February 18 this year. The cross-border arrests were made in Belgium, France and Switzerland.

One person was arrested in France. He is suspected of being one of the robbers and has been involved in several, severe crimes in France. Belgian authorities have requested his extradition. Six individuals were arrested in Switzerland while in Belgium, 250 police officers executed 40 raids, mostly in and around the Brussels area. During these raids, 24 individuals were arrested. Approximately 10 of them are known to be involved in the Brussels criminal scene.

Those arrested are all between 30 and 50 years old.

During the course of the raids the authorities in Switzerland found diamonds, some of which are confirmed to have been part of the stolen parcels. In Belgium, the seized goods are predominantly large amounts of cash.

“The breakthrough in the investigation is very good news,” said Ari Epstein, CEO of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre. “The developments the Belgian authorities communicated this morning are very important and hopeful for the ongoing investigation.”

The investigation into the robbery in which some $50 million worth of diamonds was taken as they were being loaded onto a Helvetic Airways plane at the airport, is continuing.