By RAF CASERT
BRUSSELS – When the armored van set off for Brussels airport carrying $50 million worth of precious stones from Antwerp’s high-security diamond district, eight robbers knew exactly what was up.
One of the biggest diamond heists of recent memory was about to go down.
The Belgian port city of Antwerp is the world capital of diamond-cutting. Over the years, the city’s close-knit diamond community has created one of Europe’s most secure zones, with some 2,000 surveillance cameras, police monitoring and countless identity controls to protect its $200 million in daily trade of rough and polished gems.
Antwerp, which lies 27 miles from the airport, had been hit by a major heist in 2003 and had learned its lesson.