BRUSSELS, Feb 19, 2013 (AFP) - Heavily armed robbers made off with $50 (€37.4) million worth of diamonds in a massive heist at Brussels Airport, the global dealers syndicate in Antwerp told AFP on Tuesday.
Monday night's robbery was "one of the biggest" ever, a spokeswoman for the Antwerp World Diamond Centre said, adding that the diamonds were "rough stones" being transported from Antwerp to Zurich.
The raid saw the gang of thieves hit a security truck from a specialist Brinks security subsidiary as the gems were being loaded onto a Swiss aircraft bound for Zurich.
The AWDC spokeswoman gave no details as to who the shipment belonged to.
According to the AWDC, the global diamond business is worth more than $60 (€44.9) billion each year.
Some $200 (€149.8) million worth of stones move in and out of Antwerp every day, the spokeswoman added.
Robbers drove onto the tarmac
Belgian Justice Minister Annemie Turtelboom was attending a press conference at the airport late Tuesday morning.
A statement from the airport earlier said the robbers drove through barriers onto the tarmac to get airside on Monday evening.
Reports said no shots were fired, no-one was injured and the heist was completed within a matter of minutes.
One of the vehicles was found afterwards burnt out near the airport, local police added.
There are more than 4,500 diamond dealers in Antwerp, the hub for a worldwide industry going back at least 500 years, the AWDC said.
We confirm that around 19.47h a few men managed to break through the fence at the airport with two cars. Read more twt.sk/YCn4kH
— Brussels Airport (@BrusselsAirport) February 18, 2013
