Here's some bad news for those who lost their diamonds in Monday night's Brussels airport heist:
An almost identical robbery happened at the Amsterdam Schiphol airport eight years ago and has never been solved.
On February 25, 2005, one of the "largest thefts in history" occurred when armed men hijacked a KLM truck at Amsterdam's airport, gained entrance into the airport's secured cargo area, drove straight up to the vehicle carrying the jewels and took them without any gunshots fired.
Here are some other eerily similar details between the two diamond heists:
Both cases took place at airports in major European cities.
- Both cases involved uncut diamonds, which is difficult to put a definite value on.
- The thieves in both cases dressed up in outfits resembling security officers.
- Both cases involved vehicles that are typically used by security officers. In the Belgium case, the robbers used a Mercedes van and Audi 8, which are usually driven by Belgian security forces. In the Amsterdam case, the robbers used a stolen KLM cargo truck.
- The armed men in both cases were able to gain access into secured areas at the airport. In the Belgium case, the robbers gained access to the airport runway 20 minutes before the plane was scheduled to depart. In the Amsterdam case, the robbers bypassed security to get into the cargo terminal, which requires a special entry card.
Both cases involved Antwerp, Belgium.
In the Amsterdam case, the diamonds were scheduled to land in Antwerp and in the Belgium case, the jewels were scheduled to land in Zurich.
- Neither cases involved any gunshots fired.
- In both cases, the robbers knew exactly where and when to strike, which leads investigators to believe the heists involved inside help.
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