News / International
Zimbabwe blood Diamonds smuggling, two men arrested
27 Dec 2010 at 05:38hrs | Views
Two Israelis suspected of smuggling nearly $140,000 worth of rough diamonds from Zimbabwe were arrested by customs officials at Ben Gurion Airport last week , RapNet reported. The two men, David Vardi and Gilad Halachmi have since been released from custody with restrictions.
Halachmi was randomly stopped by customs as he was exiting Ben Gurion Airport without making any declarations, and numerous rough diamonds were found in his pockets.
Halachmi confessed to authorities that he works as a water consultant in Zimbabwe and was directed by diamond trader David Vardi to smuggle the diamonds, without Kimberly Process certification, into Israel.
The Israeli Tax Authority emphasized the fact that Halachmi is not a member of the Israeli Diamond Exchange (IDE) or a diamond trader.
After Halachmi's apprehension, David Vardi was summoned for questioning and corroborated Halachmi's story. He admitted to asking Halachmi to smuggle the diamonds which had been acquired from a Lebanese diamond merchant while visiting Zimbabwe. Vardi confirmed the diamond's worth, and admitted that the stoned were not Kimberley Process certified.
Avi Paz, president of the IDE, called an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss the case with the organization's lawyers. Paz, who is also President of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) released several statements to the press stressing the fact that illegal diamond trade will not be tolerated.
" We need to remember that these are still suspicions, but yes, [Vardi] will be expelled from the Exchange if found that he is involved," Paz said.
As it stands, no rough diamonds from Zimbabwe's Marange diamond fields are certified by the Kimberley Process . The Kimberley Process is still trying to reach a decision regarding Zimbabwe rough diamond exports; meanwhile numerous instances of smuggled Marange diamonds have been reported throughout the year.
Halachmi was randomly stopped by customs as he was exiting Ben Gurion Airport without making any declarations, and numerous rough diamonds were found in his pockets.
Halachmi confessed to authorities that he works as a water consultant in Zimbabwe and was directed by diamond trader David Vardi to smuggle the diamonds, without Kimberly Process certification, into Israel.
The Israeli Tax Authority emphasized the fact that Halachmi is not a member of the Israeli Diamond Exchange (IDE) or a diamond trader.
Avi Paz, president of the IDE, called an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss the case with the organization's lawyers. Paz, who is also President of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) released several statements to the press stressing the fact that illegal diamond trade will not be tolerated.
" We need to remember that these are still suspicions, but yes, [Vardi] will be expelled from the Exchange if found that he is involved," Paz said.
As it stands, no rough diamonds from Zimbabwe's Marange diamond fields are certified by the Kimberley Process . The Kimberley Process is still trying to reach a decision regarding Zimbabwe rough diamond exports; meanwhile numerous instances of smuggled Marange diamonds have been reported throughout the year.
Source - Byo24
