Dubai - Dubai police said on Thursday they have recovered a rare blue diamond worth $20m stolen by a security guard and smuggled out to Sri Lanka in a shoe box.
The guard worked at a money transfer company where the gem was stored, police in the southern Gulf emirate said in a video posted on social media.
The thief had hidden the diamond in a shoe box handed it to a relative headed for Sri Lanka on a boat, police Colonel Mohammed Aqil Ahli told local media.
Police arrested the thief, who eventually confessed, after interrogating hundreds of suspects and analysing hours of video surveillance footage.
The diamond, whose owner has not been identified, was recovered after the ship's cargo was searched.
This undated photo made available by Dubai Police shows a rare blue diamond confiscated by Police in Dubai. (Dubai Police via AP)
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