Four diamonds worth millions were stolen on Wednesday from the world's biggest watch and jewellery fair in the northern Swiss city of Basel.

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CRIME

Diamonds swiped in daring Basel raid

Four diamonds worth millions were stolen on Wednesday from the world's biggest watch and jewellery fair in the northern Swiss city of Basel.

Published: 31 March 2011 08:25 CEST
Diamonds swiped in daring Basel raid
Baselworld (Library)

Four diamonds worth millions were stolen on Wednesday from the world’s biggest watch and jewellery fair in the northern Swiss city of Basel.

“On Wednesday, 30 March 2011, at around 11:00 am (0900 GMT), one of the as yet still unidentified perpetrators distracted an employee of a diamond trader in the exhibition hall 3.0, and stole four diamonds worth millions from the display window,” said Markus Melzl, spokesman of Basel’s prosecutor’s office.

After the robbery was detected, the exhibition hall was closed for half an hour to prevent the thieves from escaping, but to no avail.

“Apparently, the perpetrators successfully left the hall with the stolen goods,” said Melzl in a statement.

The spokesman told AFP that the theft involved “probably four to five accomplices.”

“Three diverted the attention of the diamond trader’s employees, while two others opened the showcase,” he said.

The thieves are believed to have checked out the display showcase several days before the theft, allowing them to make a quick move.

Melzl noted that the Israeli trader, who was not identified, only realised the theft about 15 minutes after it was carried out, allowing sufficient time for the perpetrators to get away.

“It was carried out in a very professional manner,” he added.  

Police are examining closed-circuit camera footage and looking into possible DNA traces and fingerprints.

Some 1,892 exhibitors from 45 countries, including luxury brands such as Chopard, Patek Philippe, and Rolex as well as jewellery makers like Bulgari and Tiffany, are showcasing their latest creations over 160,000 square metres at the Baselworld fair until Thursday.

The fair, which is open to the public, has been the targeted by thieves on several occasions. In 2009, a robber stole 13 million francs (€10 million euros) of jewellery, but was rapidly caught.

In 2007, thieves made away with more than a million francs worth of jewellery.

For members

CRIME

‘Your permit is invalid’: How scammers in Switzerland target foreigners

Scores of foreign residents have received an email recently telling them their residency rights in Switzerland have been revoked.

Published: 26 April 2024 11:17 CEST
'Your permit is invalid': How scammers in Switzerland target foreigners

A number of foreign nationals, especially in the German-speaking part of the country, have received an official-looking letter, purportedly from the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) informing them that the Free Movement of People agreement between Switzerland and the EU has been nullified, and therefore “your residence permit is no longer valid.”

Faced with enquiries from concerned recipients, SEM responded that the letter is fake, advising recipients to ignore it and, above all, not to click on the QR code on the top.

“Fake letters from the SEM have been circulating since the beginning of this week,” the immigration authority said on its website as well as on X (formerly Twitter).  

“The letter has no impact on the recipient’s  residence status,” SEM added.

Fake jobs, real threats

However, this is only the latest scam perpetrated in the name of SEM.

There have been others in the past.

For instance, many foreigners have also received emails from addresses swissimmigration@consultant or eu_immigration@consultant, that pretend to be the Swiss immigration authority.

“In most cases, a fictitious job in the hotel industry is offered, with the senders demanding payment of 300 to 1,000 euros for a permit in Switzerland and for health and accident insurance,” SEM reported.

The first clue that this email doesn’t come from  SEM, which is part of Switzerland’s government, is that it is asking for payment in euros. If the scammers were smarter, they’d demand Swiss francs.

“These e-mails do not come from the SEM and should be considered as an attempt at fraud,” the agency said. 

Extortion attempt

And a few years ago, a number of foreigners received emails coming allegedly from SEM, Swiss border control authorities, or even the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol).

They threatened to revoke the victim’s residence permit or even expel them from the country altogether if they didn’t pay a certain sum of money into an anonymous account.

Needless to say, no government authority would ever resort to blackmail or demand payment for such ‘services’.

So a good rule to remember (for foreigners and Swiss alike) is that if threats and pressure are involved, letters / emails / phone calls ( WhatsUp messages are more than likely scams.
 
READ ALSO: The common scams foreigners in Switzerland need to be aware of 

Don’t respond

SEM as well as police urge everyone contacted by scammers, by whatever means to:

  • Ignore these messages by hanging up the phone and / or deleting emails, moving them to the Spam folder
  • Never give out your credit card number or bank account information to people you don’t know
  • If you did give your card number, contact your credit card company immediately to have the card blocked. Likewise, if you gave out your banking details, get in touch with your bank.
  • In the event of threats of extortion attempts, consider filing a criminal complaint. You can search for police stations in your area on the Police website. 
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