Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Belgian court acquits suspects in Swiss plane diamond heist

Cluster of polished diamonds at a diamonds processing factory in China.
The gang used two black cars and passed themselves as police offers to enter Brussels Airport in their daring 2013 diamond heist. Keystone

A Belgian court has acquitted for lack of evidence 18 suspects accused of snatching millions worth of jewellery from the hold of a Swiss-bound plane.

One other person, who has a separate lawyer and is suspecteswitzerland diamondsdiamd of being the mastermind, will hear his case in court later.

The court’s decision could still be appealed.

The acquittal deepens the mystery around one of the most sophisticated heists in recent years.

In the Feb. 18, 2013, eight masked assailants brandishing machine gun, offloaded 120 parcels of stones from a Zurich-bound Helvetic Airways plane at Brussels airport.

They fled the scene with jewels valued at CHF46 million ($50 million at the time) without firing a shot.

Dozens of people were detained three months later in a security sweep across three nations.

More

More

Thieves steal diamonds from Swiss aircraft

This content was published on The gang used two black cars in their daring raid late Monday, grabbed the cache of 120 parcels containing the stones and sped off into the darkness, said Anja Bijnens, spokeswoman for the Brussels prosecutor’s office. “They tried to pass themselves off as police officers,” Bijnens added. They reportedly wore outfits which resembled dark police…

Read more: Thieves steal diamonds from Swiss aircraft


Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

No Swiss bank in phase with environmental objectives

More

Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF

This content was published on None of the 15 major Swiss retail banks is meeting international climate and biodiversity targets, according to a ranking by WWF Switzerland.

Read more: Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF
UNRWA provides emergency assistance to just over one million Palestine refugees, or about 75 per cent of all Palestine refugees in Gaza, who lack the financial means to cover their basic food.

More

Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

This content was published on The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.

Read more: Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR