This content was first published on IGR – Italian Gemological Review no. 14 in 2022. The information provided here is therefore current as of the original publication date.
In November 2021 Paulo Nazaré, 25, a former sergeant of Portuguese troops deployed as UN peacekeepers in the Central African Republic and Brazilian Wilker Rodrigues de Almeida, were placed in pre-trial detention. This is a thorny case that has raised a certain embarrassment among the institutions and politicians in Portugal that have been faced with the unpleasant case of soldiers of a peacekeeping mission that were taking advantage of their position to smuggle valuables into Europe.
Among the individuals involved in the network there were also four bank employees (Caixa de Crédito Agrícola and Millenium BCP), a lawyer, three agents of the Portuguese security forces, an employee of a private security company and a former captain who had been decorated for his participation in humanitarian missions. This is evidence of the extent of the network set up to smuggle the valuables.
The diamonds were transported to Portugal on military planes without customs controls and then diverted to Antwerp to be transformed into financial investments thanks to a dense network of front men. The investigation began following a complaint by a local interpreter who had not received the promised commission, 20% of the profits, from the network. This was followed shortly afterwards by the testimony of a major who had been contacted by the organization and had received eight diamonds to be transported by a plane to Portugal which provided logistical support to the mission. However, the major, who was already aware of the interpreter’s complaint, decided to hand over the goods to his commander, who reported the case to the General Staff of the Portuguese Armed Forces.
Gem News published on IGR – Rivista Italiana di Gemmologia #14, Spring 2022
