Amsterdam Court of Appeal has friday the four perpetrators of the diamond robbery at Schiphol Airport in 2005 were sentenced to prison terms of more than 3.5 to 9.5 years on appeal. The sentences are higher than the requirement of the Public Prosecution Service, which had demanded up to 8.5 years in prison, and than the sentences that the four received in 2019 in the first instance. Then the court imposed prison sentences of up to 7 years. Two other suspects were acquitted on Friday, just like in 2019.
Among the four convicts is a former KLM employee from Amsterdam. He and a 57-year-old man from Nieuwegein were not only convicted of the diamond robbery, but also for an earlier attempt to do so. Both were sentenced to 9.5 years in prison, as was the third perpetrator, who possessed a firearm and explosives. The fourth, a 57-year-old man from Amsterdam, has to spend more than 3.5 years in prison for involvement in the earlier attempt. That took place in early February 2005, two weeks before the successful robbery.
According to the court, the high penalties are justified because it concerns “a very serious and exceptional robbery” that had “a major impact” on society and the victims. The court also took into account that “planned” action was taken with help from within.
Read more about the case here: Undercover agents deployed against diamond robbers
Diamonds and jewelry
At the time, the diamond robbery was one of the largest robberies in Dutch history. The perpetrators stole diamonds and jewelry worth more than 72 million dollars (almost 55 million euros) on a cargo platform at Schiphol Airport, which should be a closely guarded location. More than $43 million worth of diamonds has still not been recovered.
Initially, several perpetrators were already arrested, but they had to be released due to lack of evidence. In 2013, the investigation was reopened due to a new designation. Partly because undercover agents subsequently gained the trust of the KLM employee, the case could still be closed and seven suspects were arrested in 2017. One of them was never tried; he died before the trial was completed.
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