Vladivostok Novosti Company
December 07, 2006

Police detain fishy diamonds

The Vladivostok News

Police inspectors of the Polyarny airport in the town of Udachny, Yakutia, on Tuesday detained a woman who tried to smuggle in rough diamonds by hiding them inside of a fish which she carried in her baggage.

Twenty five unprocessed diamonds with a total weight of 166.4 carats were found in the woman’s baggage during a regular check for the flight destined for Moscow, a press statement from Russia’s North-Eastern Transport Police said Wednesday.

The statement did not specify whether the diamonds were hidden in raw or smoked fish. The 51-year-old woman is a resident of St. Petersburg, the statement said.

The police launched a criminal case due to the incident. The investigation is yet to determine the diamonds’ worth.

According to the Rosbalt news agency, in 2005 police of the Russian Far Eastern region uncovered over 300 crimes related to the smuggling of precious metals and natural stones with an overall value estimated at $1 million.
Other materials of this Issue:
Russian Nature Ministry audits mining licenses
Disabled but not discouraged
Facing the Russian cold
Customs officer assailed in Vladivostok
Man bears fine for bare photos
Tigress on war path
Music and science travels to Vladivostok
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