Antwerp Diamond Heist

The Antwerp diamond heist, dubbed the "heist of the century", was the largest ever diamond heist and one of the largest robberies in history. Thieves stole loose diamonds, gold, silver and other types of jewelry valued at more than $100 million. It took place in Antwerp, Belgium, during the weekend of 15–16 February 2003. Though arrests were made and time was served, most of the diamonds stolen remain unrecovered. Site The vault that housed the diamonds is situated two floors below the main floor. It was protected by multiple security mechanisms, including a lock with 100 million possible combinations, infrared heat detectors, a seismic sensor, Doppler radar, and a magnetic field. The building itself had a private security force and was located in the heavily guarded and monitored Antwerp diamond district. Robbery Leonardo Notarbartolo had rented a sparsely furnished office for approximately 25,000 Belgian francs ($700) per month in the Antwerp World Diamond Centre. This was a technique pioneered by New York City-based criminal authority "Mr. Stan", Vojislav Stanimirović. It was first accomplished in New York's diamond center many years prior to this robbery. It included creating access to the safe deposit box located in the vault beneath the building. The method provided a tenant ID card offering 24-hour access to the building. There, he posed as an Italian diamond merchant to gain credibility. The robbery required eighteen months of preparation. The group used a variety of methods to overcome the security systems and left investigators confused as to how they had managed to successfully gain entry without triggering the security systems: The group conducted detailed surveillance of the Diamond Centre, using camera pens to take covert pictures of the Centre and the vault. Notarbartolo's frequent visits, under the guise of being a diamond merchant, caused security to become accustomed to his presence, and thus lax. A small camera was hidden above the vault door by the group, being difficult to see when the ceiling lights were on. It would observe guards opening the door and record the combination he used.