Spain police arrest suspected diamond thieves

A suspected gang of diamond thieves who posed as potential buyers to heist a purple-colored diamond worth several million euros in Barcelona has been busted by French and Spanish police, law enforcement officials said. Police in Spain's northeast Catalonia said Wednesday that eight suspected members of the criminal ring were arrested in Bondy, France, near Paris.

The police investigation in Barcelona started after the January 2020 robbery of the rare diamond estimated to be worth up to 15 million euros (18 million US dollars), according to Catalan police. The investigation later linked the suspects to the robbery of another diamond worth 4.5 million euros (5.4 million US dollars) in Cannes, France, in August 2020.Police said the thieves pretended to be interested in the purchase of the stones, only to switch the diamond case for a similar one after distracting the seller.

(Image Credit: AP)