Eugammon of Cyrene

Antwerp diamond heist

The Antwerp Diamond Centre
Date	February 15–16, 2003 (2003-02-15 – 2003-02-16)
Location	Antwerp, Belgium
Coordinates	51°12′58″N 4°25′04″E / 51.2162°N 4.4177°E / 51.2162; 4.4177
Type	Heist
Participants	Leonardo Notarbartolo, Ferdinando Finotto, Elio D’Onorio, Pietro Tavano, and unidentified co-conspirators
Outcome	More than $100 million of property stolen
Missing	Diamonds, gold, silver, other types of jewelry, cash, and securities
Sentence	10 years imprisonment for Leonardo Notarbartolo, 5 years for the other participants

The Antwerp diamond heist, dubbed the "heist of the century",^[1] was the largest ever diamond heist and one of the largest robberies in history. Thieves stole loose diamonds, gold, silver and other types of jewelry valued at more than $100 million.^[2][3] It took place in Antwerp, Belgium, during the weekend of 15–16 February 2003. Though arrests were made and time was served, most of the diamonds stolen remain unrecovered.^[4]

The vault that housed the diamonds is situated two floors below the main floor. It was protected by multiple security mechanisms, including a lock with 100 million possible combinations, infrared heat detectors, a seismic sensor, Doppler radar, and a magnetic field. The building itself had a private security force^[1] and was located in the heavily guarded and monitored Antwerp diamond district.

Leonardo Notarbartolo had rented a sparsely furnished office for approximately 25,000 Belgian francs ($700) per month in the Antwerp World Diamond Centre. It included creating access to the safe deposit box located in the vault beneath the building. The method provided a tenant ID card offering 24-hour access to the building.^[5] There, he posed as an Italian diamond merchant to gain credibility. The robbery required eighteen months of preparation.^[4] The group used a variety of methods to overcome the security systems:^[6]

• The group conducted detailed surveillance of the Diamond Centre, using a hidden camera to take covert pictures of the centre and the vault. Notarbartolo's frequent visits, under the guise of being a diamond merchant, caused security to become accustomed to his presence, and thus lax.
• A small camera may have been hidden above the vault door by the group, for uncertain purposes. Notarbartolo later stated that it would broadcast its data to a nearby storage system hidden inside a fire extinguisher, but this is considered implausible.
• At some point, probably before the robbery, Notarbartolo visited the vault and sprayed hair spray on the thermal-motion sensors, as the oil from the product was transparent but would prevent the sensor from detecting thermal fluctuations in the room and the sensor would only be triggered if it detected both heat and motion. While the security camera recorded his actions, the guard was accustomed to his visits and did not pay attention.
• The team wore plastic gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints.
• Security cameras in the antechamber were covered with black plastic bags to allow the group to turn on the lights.
• The vault door had a magnetic lock that consisted of two plates - when armed, they would trigger a magnetic field and when the door opened, the field would break, triggering an alarm. One of the perpetrators overcame this by using a custom-made aluminium plate, to which he attached heavy-duty double-sided adhesive tape to one side. He then stuck it on the two bolts and unscrewed them. While they were loose from their proper position, they were still side by side and generating a magnetic field. They were pivoted out of the way and taped to the antechamber wall.
• The group found the foot-long vault key in a nearby storage room. The group turned off the antechamber lights before opening the vault door to avoid tripping light sensors in the vault.
• Heat sensors were blinded with Styrofoam boxes and light sensors with tape.
• The team used a hand-cranked jack to break the locks on each of the security boxes. The contents were then emptied into duffel bags.
• Shortly before dawn they finished and left, putting the bags in a getaway car, which then drove to the apartment while the men headed there on foot.

The group was caught after garbage was found, disposed of by a perpetrator or perpetrators in a nearby forest. A local hunter owned the land and called the police when he found the rubbish the next day (originally suspecting it to be caused by local teenagers he had previously had disputes with). He realized that some of the rubbish consisted of material from the Antwerp Diamond Centre, and the police immediately investigated. The evidence from the rubbish was enough to allow the police to identify Notarbartolo.^[6]

After the robbery, Notarbartolo and his team stole the security footage to conceal their identities.^[7] More than 123 out of 160^[2][3][8] safe deposit boxes were forced open, each of which was made of steel and copper and had both a key lock and combination lock.^[1][9]

The theft was carried out by a team including Leonardo Notarbartolo, a professional thief who was skilled in social manipulation.^[1][6] Notarbartolo had rented space in the diamond district, and was arrested after being connected to the crime by evidence found in the team's garbage, including DNA evidence from a partially eaten salami sandwich found near the crime scene.^[6][10][11]

In addition to Notarbartolo, the team consisted of at least four other members, whom Notarbartolo gave aliases during interviews, though he refused to specify whom each alias referred to:^[1]

• Speedy - described as an anxious and paranoid man, he was a long-time friend of Notarbartolo and was the one responsible for scattering the rubbish in the woods. Most likely the alias of Pietro Tavano.
• The Monster - described as a tall, muscular man, he was apparently an expert lock picker, electrician, mechanic and driver and was very strong. Most likely the alias of Ferdinando Finotto.
• The Genius - a specialist in alarm systems. Most likely the alias of Elio D’Onório,^[12] an electronics expert known to be linked to series of robberies.
• The King of Keys - an older man, he was described as one of the best key forgers in the world. His true identity is unknown and he remains the only member of the crew to escape apprehension by the police.

Notarbartolo was found guilty of orchestrating the heist. He is considered to be the leader of a ring of Italian thieves called "La Scuola di Torino" (The School of Turin),^[3][13] who carried out the crime. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the court of appeal of Antwerp in 2005,^[1] but had since been released on parole in 2009.^[14] In 2011, a European Arrest Warrant was issued against him after he was found to have violated his parole conditions. One of these conditions was that he needed to compensate the victims of the heist, which he never made any attempt to do. As a consequence, he was arrested again in 2013 at the Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris during a layover from the United States to Turin, and was made to serve the remainder of his prison sentence until 2017.^[15]

Tavano, D’Onorio and Finotto each got five years in prison.^[16][17]

Notarbartolo's wife, Adriana Crudo,^[18] and Antonino Falletti were also tried, and Falletti's Dutch wife Judith Zwiep was arrested.^[19][20][21] Falletti and Crudo were found not guilty.^[6]

Notarbartolo claimed in an interview with Wired magazine that a diamond merchant hired them for the heist. He claims that they actually stole approximately €18 million ($20 million) worth of loot, and that the robbery was part of an insurance fraud. Someone knowing the incumbent robbery could have taken the diamonds and then claimed the insurance on them, hence gaining from the insurance fraud.^[7]

Due to the fact that the vault itself was uninsured, as the insurance company realised the security flaws and would have never given it an insurance policy, there was actually very little insurance money involved. This, along with other pieces of evidence, casts doubt on his story. Experts do not consider Notarbartolo's account plausible.^[6]

The heist is the subject of the book Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History^[22] by Scott Andrew Selby and Greg Campbell.^[6]

The first episode of the Audible Original Audio Series "HEIST with Michael Caine" gives an overview of the theft, largely taken from the book.

The story of this diamond heist was featured on The Travel Channel's Mysteries At The Museum Season 16/Episode 4 titled “Project Vortex, Diamond Heist and Tinseltown, NJ”, narrated by series host Don Wildman.

The story was also featured on TV Series History's Greatest Heists, Season 1 / Episode 1 : titled "The Antwerp Diamond Heist", narrated by Pierce Brosnan.

Paramount Pictures optioned the rights to create a film about the heist, which have since expired. It was to be produced by J. J. Abrams.^{[14][23][24][25]}

BBC World Service podcast show, The Outlook, produced an audio episode, The detective and the diamond heist, describing the incident and aftermath.^[26]

Amazon released Everybody Loves Diamonds, a series based on the Antwerp Diamond Center heist on October 13, 2023, starring Kim Rossi Stuart. ^[27]

In an interview with Screen Rant, film director Christian Gudegast said his film Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is based on the 2003 Antwerp diamond heist.^[28][29]

• 1971 Baker Street robbery
• 1977 Krugersdorp bank robbery
• 2005 Schiphol Airport diamond heist
• 2013 Brussels Airport diamond heist
• 2015 Hatton Garden safe deposit burglary