Namibia: Diamond Theft Inside Job
Namibian diamond producer Namdeb has for the first time publicly admitted that the theft of a 78-carat diamond at its laboratory in Oranjemund in August was possibly an inside job.
Namdeb chief executive officer, Inge Zaamwani-Kamwi said at a briefing in Windhoek on Tuesday that the company has acknowledged that the incident was 'an inside job'.
"The diamond was in the process of being valued," she said, when diamond industry executives gave an update on the state of the industry to Prime Minister Hage Geingob. Zaamwani-Kamwi said the diamond went missing just a few days after it was extracted.
She said despite security measures, which include state-of-the-art technology, some workers find loopholes to steal diamonds.
"We regret the loss. It is a police case now and no arrests have been made so far," she said.
Geingob wondered how such a big diamond could go missing under tight security.
Rudolf Isaak, the deputy commissioner of crime investigations in the //Karas region, said in an interview yesterday that the matter was still under investigation, but said Namdeb did not say anything about the theft being an inside job.
"We are still investigating. After we have finished our investigations, we will send the docket to the Office of the Prosecutor General, who will decide what to do," he said.
Although theft of diamonds at Namdeb has happened before, it is the size of the diamond that has left many baffled.
In 2011, a huge 78-carat rough diamond, billed as the most significant find in the 13-year history of Canada's Ekati mine, was auctioned off in Belgium for more than US$6 million.
Although Namibia produces fewer diamonds than some other countries, the quality of its diamonds is very high.
The last big diamond theft was in 2010 when diamonds worth N$19 million were stolen from the NamGem diamond cutting and polishing factory in Okahandja.
No arrests have been made in connection with the disappearance of the NamGem diamonds.
Namibian diamond producer Namdeb has for the first time publicly admitted that the theft of a 78-carat diamond at its laboratory in Oranjemund in August was possibly an inside job.
Namdeb chief executive officer, Inge Zaamwani-Kamwi said at a briefing in Windhoek on Tuesday that the company has acknowledged that the incident was 'an inside job'.
"The diamond was in the process of being valued," she said, when diamond industry executives gave an update on the state of the industry to Prime Minister Hage Geingob. Zaamwani-Kamwi said the diamond went missing just a few days after it was extracted.
She said despite security measures, which include state-of-the-art technology, some workers find loopholes to steal diamonds.
"We regret the loss. It is a police case now and no arrests have been made so far," she said.
Geingob wondered how such a big diamond could go missing under tight security.
Rudolf Isaak, the deputy commissioner of crime investigations in the //Karas region, said in an interview yesterday that the matter was still under investigation, but said Namdeb did not say anything about the theft being an inside job.
"We are still investigating. After we have finished our investigations, we will send the docket to the Office of the Prosecutor General, who will decide what to do," he said.
Although theft of diamonds at Namdeb has happened before, it is the size of the diamond that has left many baffled.
In 2011, a huge 78-carat rough diamond, billed as the most significant find in the 13-year history of Canada's Ekati mine, was auctioned off in Belgium for more than US$6 million.
Although Namibia produces fewer diamonds than some other countries, the quality of its diamonds is very high.
The last big diamond theft was in 2010 when diamonds worth N$19 million were stolen from the NamGem diamond cutting and polishing factory in Okahandja.
No arrests have been made in connection with the disappearance of the NamGem diamonds.
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