Portugal, January 15: An 86.7-carat uncut diamond worth an estimated $4.4 million was seized at Frankfurt airport from an Angolan man arriving from Namibia, police said.
The 38-year-old, who has not been named, told customs officials after being detained with a forged visa yesterday that he intended to use the precious stone to buy cars in Portugal and that it was worth just $87,500.
But an examination concluded the diamond, for which the man could produce no documentation, was worth $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 $875,000 in import taxes, and was due to go before an investigating judge later today.
“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