Dubai arrests four suspects over Indian gem heist: police

MUMBAI, Aug 24, 2010 AFP © - Three Mexicans and a Venezuelan have been arrested in Dubai on suspicion of stealing diamonds worth about 1.4 million dollars from a jewellery show in Mumbai, Indian police said Tuesday.

India International Jewellery Show's Soltaire Awards night

The four suspects -- three men and a woman -- are thought to be professional gem thieves who lifted a box containing 887.24 carats of diamonds from the India International Jewellery Show being held in Mumbai under tight security.

Dubai authorities pounced on the four after they touched down in the United Arab Emirates en route for the German city of Hamburg. India sent a request for their arrest via the international police organisation Interpol.

Senior officer Himanshu Roy from the Mumbai Police said India would seek the extradition of the four.

The female suspect is alleged to have slipped the precious stones into her bag after diverting a salesman's attention.

"Initially the salesman thought the goods had been misplaced. He searched for them but by the night he realised that they had been stolen," the officer said.

Detectives at the Mumbai Police Crime Branch were alerted and tracked down the alleged culprits through CCTV footage and their registration details for the show.

Roy said that the diamonds, which belonged to Israel-based diamond company Dalumi Group, had been recovered.

"We have sent a request through the Interpol wing to hand them back to the Crime Branch. We are waiting for the response from the Dubai police," he told reporters.

"It's very likely that these people have committed such offences in the past... I don't think it's a very easy thing to commit. They may have some background and professionalism in this."

The International Jewellery Show, which had 1,550 booths exhibiting products from across the world, ended on Monday.

It was restricted to industry insiders and foreigners were required to give copies of their passports to access the show, said Vasant Mehta, president of Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, which organised the exhibition.