Namibia, January 15: An 86.7-carat uncut diamond worth an estimated 2.5 million ($4.4 million) was seized at Frankfurt airport from an Angolan man arriving from Namibia.
The 38-year-old, who has not been named, told customs officials after being detained with a forged visa Thursday that he intended to use the precious stone to buy cars in Portugal and that it was worth just $88,000.
But an examination concluded the diamond, around one inch high and one inch wide, and for which the man could produce no documentation, was worth around $4.4 million.
The man will not get the diamond back as he is accused of “a whole range of offences,” including breaching international rules stopping the trade in blood diamonds from conflict areas, customs spokesman Hans-Juergen Schmidt said.
He also faces charges of smuggling and of withholding around $880,000 in import taxes.
“The diamond will most likely be confiscated and go to the German state,” Schmidt said. “He will not be a free man whatever happens. The judge will either remand him in custody or he will be deported to Angola.”
—Agencies