4 foreigners held in Dubai for Rs 6.6 crore heist in city

MUMBAI: Four foreign nationals who stole diamonds worth Rs 6.6 crore from the India International Jewellery Show at Goregaon (E) on Monday were intercepted in less than 24 hours at Dubai international airport. The accused have been identified as Guerrero Lugo Elivia Grissel (24), a woman, Campos Molan Elias (39), Gonzalez Maldonado Mauricio (24), all Mexicans, and Gutierez Orlando (30) from Venezuela.



The four had plotted the heist in advance and conducted a recce for two days at the NSE ground. Each of them had forked out Rs 3,600 as entrance charges.



On Monday, they arrived at IIJS around 2 pm. The gang thought it best to strike on the last day of the exhibition as most participants would be busy winding up their show.



The diamonds were stolen from a stall belonging to a Hong Kong-based firm, Dalumi group. The firm's managing director, Kobi Itzkaki, sales manager Guy Vaz and another employee were present when the theft took place.



The diamonds were placed in boxes inside a vault at the stall. The accused split into two groups. Grissel and a male associate positioned themselves near the entrance to the stall, from where they could get a good look at the vault. The other two accused summoned Itzkaki out and started speaking to him in Hebrew to keep him occupied. They even asked someone to act as an interpreter for them.



Meanwhile, Grissel and her male accomplice slipped inside the stall and stole a box containing 300 pieces of diamonds weighing 889 carats and worth Rs 6.6 crore. The box was placed in Grissel's handbag by her associate, but unknown to them, this action was captured by CCTV cameras outside the stall.



Vaz and his colleague, who were seated elsewhere in the stall, heard the vault door clanking shut. They decided to examine their stock, which took half an hour. The accused had escaped by then as there were no checks at the exit point of the hall.



The four diamond thieves then took a Meru Cab and went to the J W Marriott hotel at Juhu, where they distributed the diamonds among themselves. By the time the cops learnt of the theft at 10 pm, the gang had fled the country on flight EK-509 (Mumbai-Dubai-Hamburg).



The quartet was detained at Dubai international airport on Tuesday morning after the Mumbai police issued lookout notices on them and contacted Interpol. "The stolen diamonds were recovered from their baggage by authorities in the UAE. We are now waiting for a response from the UAE authorities. Once we get a green signal from them, either our team will go to Dubai or we will request them to deport the four accused,'' joint commissioner Himanshu Roy said.



"The accused had arrived in India on August 18. While the three Mexicans stayed at West End hotel on Marine Drive, the Venezuelan stayed at Marriott,'' senior inspector Milind Khetle said. "We will take the consulate's help to learn more about the backgrounds of the accused.''



The crime branch went through five CCTV tapes before nailing the accused. They also matched the CCTV images with the photographs of the accused on their entrance passes.



Preliminary inquiries reveal that the accused could be professionals. Sources in the police said that of the 300 stolen diamond pieces, approximately 30% were missing and could even have been swallowed by the accused.



Non-bailable warrants have been issued against the four by a local court. They will be booked on charges of theft after they land in Mumbai.




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