Antwerp’s Friendly Jewel Thief
No, it's not Franky Four-Fingers
Mystery Mob!!
This week in our internet research we stumbled on the tale of a mysterious jewel thief who stole $28 million worth of diamonds and was never seen again. But before we go to Antwerp, we have some important things to take care of.
The Missing Detective: Part 1: our first online, escape room/mystery detective series will have a beta ready to test in June. (Picture a mix between Hunt a Killer, escape rooms, and 3D home tour technology. It’s dope.)
BETA TESTERS: We’re looking for ~10 of you. First come, first serve. Just reply to this email if you want to be a tester and give us feedback. You’ll get to check out Part 1 of this 5-Part series for free AND you’ll get to help us make this the coolest it can possibly be.
And now for the answer to Wednesday’s riddle:
I sizzle like bacon, I'm made with an egg. I have plenty of backbone, but not a good leg. I peel like an onion, but still remain whole. I can be taller than you, but still fit in a hole.
What am I?
A snake of course!
Whew, now that all that’s out of the way, let’s get to that jewel thief!
Antwerp: The Diamond Capital of the World
The Antwerp Diamond District or Diamond Quarter (Diamantkwartier), an area of about one square mile, is the largest diamond center in the world.
The district is home to 380 workshops that provide ~1,500 companies with gem cutting and polishing services.
How much does that equate to? Oh just a small turnover of $54 billion a year.
With more than half of all diamonds in the world passing through Antwerp and air shipments leaving through Brussels, it’s like Candyland for jewel thieves.
You catch more *diamond heists* with honey…
By all accounts, the diamond trader who went by the name “Carlos Hector Flomenbaum” was a friendly person.
When most people think of thieves, they picture someone hanging out in the shadows, out of sight, surreptitious. Flomenbaum went the opposite route.
He wanted to stick out. He made friends. He brought chocolates to share.
But it was calculated.
ABM Amro bank: where staff hands you the key to the vault
ABM Amro bank was fitted with a million-dollar security system. But elaborate security systems don’t help much when you literally give the thief a key.
For a full year, Carlos was a customer of ABM Amro bank. He was kind to the staff - everyone knew him as the guy “who brought in chocolates” for the employees.
As a diamond trader, he was seen as the exact opposite of a thief. So much so, that employees gave Carlos an electric key card to access his own supposed stash of diamonds.
Naturally, he used that vault key to enter and loot several legitimate traders’ safe deposit boxes.
In the process, Carlos swiped $28 million worth of diamonds, weighing 120,000 carats.
Gone with the wind
After the robbery, Carlos disappeared from Antwerp.
The police looked into him. The name wasn’t his. His pseudonym, Carlos Flomenbaum, came from a stolen Israeli passport.
“Carlos” hasn’t been seen since.
Small dive
Here’s a CNN article that walks through this heist and few others.
As always,
Stay ‘spicious
-Andy & Mark
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