Watch: Dubai Police foil $25 million pink diamond heist in eight hours
Gang plotted theft for a year using luxury cars and hotels
DUBAI – In a dramatic operation codenamed Pink Diamond, Dubai Police thwarted the theft of a rare pink diamond worth $25 million, arresting three suspects within eight hours and recovering the stolen gem before it could leave the country.
The highly coveted 21.25-carat diamond, classified as Fancy Intense with exceptional clarity and polish, is one of the rarest of its kind, with only a 0.01 per cent chance of finding another like it.
Police said the gang had been planning the theft for more than a year, closely monitoring the stone’s arrival in Dubai and targeting its owner, a jeweller who had imported it from Europe.
The elaborate scheme involved deceiving the merchant into believing a wealthy buyer was interested in purchasing the gem, eventually luring him into a carefully staged trap.
Pink diamond heist
The suspects, all of Asian nationality, posed as high-net-worth individuals, renting luxury cars and holding meetings at top Dubai hotels to gain the jeweller’s trust. To reinforce their credibility, they even brought in a diamond expert to authenticate the stone. Convinced of their seriousness, the jeweller eventually agreed to take the gem out of his secured premises.
The group then lured him to a villa on the pretext of meeting the supposed buyer. Once the diamond was presented, they seized it and fled, with plans to smuggle it out of the UAE hidden inside a small refrigerator bound for an Asian country.
How did Dubai Police respond?
As soon as the jeweller reported the theft, Dubai Police formed a special task force. Using advanced surveillance technology, Criminal Investigation Department teams tracked the three suspects, who had split up and moved to different locations following the heist.
Within hours, simultaneous raids were conducted, leading to the gang’s arrest and the recovery of the pink diamond before it could be smuggled abroad.
The jeweller praised Dubai Police’s speed, saying he was astonished at how quickly the suspects were caught. “After calling 999, multiple patrols arrived within minutes, began the investigation, and reassured me throughout,” he said. “To my surprise, the very next morning, they called to say the suspects had been arrested and the diamond recovered.”
Operating in Dubai since 2005, the trader admitted being shocked by the sophistication of the scheme. He urged fellow jewellers to strictly follow safety protocols set by the emirate to protect valuable assets. “Dubai has become a safe global centre for diamond trade. It’s important we uphold the standards that make that possible,” he said.