Greek Cypriot police looking for two of three suspect who stole diamond from a shop in Cyprus

Greek Cypriot police said two of three people suspected of stealing diamond from a shop in Cyprus have been identified as Georgian nationals and the police will request Interpol and Europol alerts to help with their arrests.

The police on Wednesday detailed that they have issued arrest warrants for a 43-year-old woman and a 44-year-old man accused of stealing a five-carat diamond valued at €180,000.

Police said the suspects may have escaped the island by crossing through the north. They added that efforts are still underway to identify the third suspect.

The case broke on Monday and on Tuesday the Cyprus Mail reported that the police are on the hunt for three Russian-speaking gem thieves.

CCTV footage showed the suspected diamond thieves – two men and a woman – entering a Yermasogeia jewellery shop at 4:00pm on Monday. They all wore sunglasses, and one man wore a baseball cap. The woman seen has bleached blond hair.

A police spokesman detailed that the heist was centred on a perfectly executed sleight of hand.

He said that the trio entered the shop with one of the male suspects asking the jeweller to place the €180,000 diamond on a white piece of paper for it to be inspected.

While the male suspect was inspecting the diamond, the other two distracted the shop owner and it appears that the real diamond was swapped with a fake.

It is understood that one of the male suspects had previously staked out the shop, having entered and asked to view the diamond. Andreou said that perhaps the suspect previously viewed the diamond to then create a copy to trick the dealer with.

The suspects allegedly then purchased a €400 gold chain and left without “buying” the diamond. The jeweller became suspicious, tested the gemstone and discovered the scam.

Cyprus Mail