Wow. Where exactly do you sell this stuff if the thieves never get caught?
Quote from: MuggsyB on October 19, 2025, 11:51:49 AMWow. Where exactly do you sell this stuff if the thieves never get caught?
Probably should watch Lupin.
Crap! I knew that deal on Ebay was too good to be true. Cops just pulled up in our drive.
You win some, you Louvre some.
Quote from: MuggsyB on October 19, 2025, 11:51:49 AMWow. Where exactly do you sell this stuff if the thieves never get caught?
Some rich person with loose morals
Quote from: ATL MU Warrior on October 19, 2025, 01:27:42 PMSome rich person with loose morals
Plenty of those in America
Quote from: Uncle Rico on October 19, 2025, 01:34:12 PMPlenty of those in America
We're not the only country with assheads. Far from it.
Quote from: MuggsyB on October 19, 2025, 02:09:27 PMWe're not the only country with assheads. Far from it.
Ours just happen to support fascists
Quote from: Uncle Rico on October 19, 2025, 02:12:48 PMOurs just happen to support fascists
What
IS it with you picking on fascists? Some of my best friends are fascists.
Quote from: Scoop Snoop on October 19, 2025, 02:22:55 PMWhat IS it with you picking on fascists? Some of my best friends are fascists.
There's a lot of them in this country. Just glad to see all the anti fascists across the country yesterday.
This could have been prevented if we had launched a preemptive air strike on the louvre
Quote from: Shaka Shart on October 19, 2025, 03:32:08 PMThis could have been prevented if we had launched a preemptive air strike on the louvre
Just hope the thieves were transgender
The police are all over this.
https://bsky.app/profile/mags.colvett.online/post/3m3lhyqc3us2y
Quote from: The Sultan on October 19, 2025, 06:53:23 PMThe police are all over this.
https://bsky.app/profile/mags.colvett.online/post/3m3lhyqc3us2y
RIP Peter Sellers.
Quote from: Uncle Rico on October 19, 2025, 01:34:12 PMPlenty of those in America
George Soros is fencing the jewelry?
Quote from: MuggsyB on October 19, 2025, 07:27:30 PMRIP Peter Sellers.
Dude, your
very clever post is not welcome where people are making serious political statements.
And FYI, my dog does not bite.
Quote from: WhiteTrash on October 19, 2025, 08:18:45 PMDude, your very clever post is not welcome where people are making serious political statements.
And FYI, my dog does not bite.
Mr.Sellers was immensely talented. What a terrible loss. Maybe that dog led to some heart problems. :(
Muggsy, what would your 5 pt plan be to rob the Louvre
Quote from: GB Warrior on October 19, 2025, 08:55:31 PMMuggsy, what would your 5 pt plan be to rob the Louvre
Walking under the lasers standing up completely straight
Quote from: GB Warrior on October 19, 2025, 08:55:31 PMMuggsy, what would your 5 pt plan be to rob the Louvre
Is there something specifically that you want other than the Mona Lisa?
Quote from: MuggsyB on October 19, 2025, 09:21:04 PMIs there something specifically that you want other than the Mona Lisa?
The building to detonate
Quote from: MuggsyB on October 19, 2025, 09:21:04 PMIs there something specifically that you want other than the Mona Lisa?
Just for the love of the game
Quote from: GB Warrior on October 19, 2025, 09:30:33 PMJust for the love of the game
Well, I'm pretty sure I could annoy many members of the security team and create diversions. But I would need a few no nonsense problem solvers because I don't like ladders.
I'm a louvre, not a fighter.
Quote from: MuggsyB on October 19, 2025, 09:42:21 PMWell, I'm pretty sure I could annoy many members of the security team and create diversions. But I would need a few no nonsense problem solvers because I don't like ladders.
How else do you reach the kitchen counter
Quote from: MU1in77 on October 19, 2025, 08:06:55 PMGeorge Soros is fencing the jewelry?
I hope so. I wouldn't want his check to me to bounce.
Quote from: tower912 on October 20, 2025, 06:20:37 AMI hope so. I wouldn't want his check to me to bounce.
Got my sweet protest deposit this morning!
Quote from: MuggsyB on October 19, 2025, 09:42:21 PMWell, I'm pretty sure I could annoy many members of the security team and create diversions. But I would need a few no nonsense problem solvers because I don't like ladders.
When I think of no nonsense problem solvers, I think of Scoop
Quote from: MuggsyB on October 19, 2025, 08:27:58 PMMr.Sellers was immensely talented. What a terrible loss. Maybe that dog led to some heart problems. :(
Being There is one of the great movies of his. Very prescient for our times still.
The fact that the Louvre heist didn't take place at dawn, but at the very reasonable hour of 9:30 a.m. shows that even French jewel thieves have a better work-life balance than us.�
Quote from: pbiflyer on October 20, 2025, 11:54:27 AMThe fact that the Louvre heist didn't take place at dawn, but at the very reasonable hour of 9:30 a.m. shows that even French jewel thieves have a better work-life balance than us.�
Are we sure that the jewel thieves were French? People are saying it was antifa, with Soros' backing.
Quote from: MU82 on October 20, 2025, 12:19:11 PMAre we sure that the jewel thieves were French? People are saying it was antifa, with Soros' backing.
(https://media.tenor.com/UXIrxHiKIcUAAAAM/mlb-baseball.gif)
Where was Danny Ocean and Rusty?
Quote from: MuggsyB on October 19, 2025, 09:42:21 PMWell, I'm pretty sure I could annoy many members of the security team and create diversions. But I would need a few no nonsense problem solvers because I don't like ladders.
I have absolutely no doubt that you could annoy
anyone and create diversions. You do both on Scoop on a daily basis.
Quote from: pbiflyer on October 20, 2025, 11:54:27 AMThe fact that the Louvre heist didn't take place at dawn, but at the very reasonable hour of 9:30 a.m. shows that even French jewel thieves have a better work-life balance than us.�
They had coffee and croissants before the robbery and probably took a stroll along the Seine before going to work for the day. Very civilized, methinks.
Quote from: Scoop Snoop on October 20, 2025, 05:34:37 PMThey had coffee and croissants before the robbery and probably took a stroll along the Seine before going to work for the day. Very civilized, methinks.
It's just going to be very hard to follow the trail after they've been on vacation for 3 months
Quote from: Uncle Rico on October 20, 2025, 08:07:41 AMBeing There is one of the great movies of his. Very prescient for our times still.
Very good film and performance. But Sellers was a tier 1 comedic actor. Very few were/are at his super elite level.
Quote from: Scoop Snoop on October 20, 2025, 05:30:31 PMI have absolutely no doubt that you could annoy anyone and create diversions. You do both on Scoop on a daily basis.
This just proves you're severely unhinged. And it's why I purposely try not to annoy you. I don't want to put you in the hospital (or worse), so I dial down my relentless perstiferousness. I've never even tried to annoy you. So be grateful, thank me profusely, and hope beyond hope I don't use all the weapons at my disposal.
Quote from: MuggsyB on October 20, 2025, 06:54:31 PMThis just proves you're severely unhinged. And it's why I purposely try not to annoy you. I don't want to put you in the hospital (or worse), so I dial down my relentless perstiferousness. I've never even tried to annoy you. So be grateful, thank me profusely, and hope beyond hope I don't use all the weapons at my disposal.
;D ;D ;D
Classic example of projection.
Quote from: Scoop Snoop on October 20, 2025, 08:08:32 PM;D ;D ;D
Classic example of projection.
Diminutive citizens literally can't project according to Scoop members.
Quote from: GB Warrior on October 19, 2025, 08:55:31 PMMuggsy, what would your 5 pt plan be to rob the Louvre
My one-point plan would be to wait until a value has been established, and then offer to return the loot for 10%,,
No Questions Asked, no prosecution.
Edit: And the police have to give me my ladder rig back. It's a really nice one.
I'm mostly just impressed that someone was able to find what they were looking for in the Louvre.�
Stolen from the internet (shouldn't all comments about the jewel heist be?)
Someone should make a t-shirt that says: "Jewel heists are for Louvres."
It sounds like the Louvre security was nowhere near where it should be.
5 best heist/robbery flicks?
I would still probably slot The Sting #1.
Quote from: MuggsyB on October 21, 2025, 10:35:41 PM5 best heist/robbery flicks?
I would still probably slot The Sting #1.
I figured you'd like The Big Short
Quote from: Shaka Shart on October 21, 2025, 10:45:16 PMI figured you'd like The Big Short
Mediocre. And I don't think that's the same genre.
Quote from: MuggsyB on October 21, 2025, 10:49:52 PMMediocre. And I don't think that's the same genre.
You're right. Nobody got away with anyone's wealth or money in the financial crisis.
Quote from: Shaka Shart on October 21, 2025, 10:50:49 PMYou're right. Nobody got away with anyone's wealth or money in the financial crisis.
It's not the same thing and we're talking about movies.
Quote from: MuggsyB on October 21, 2025, 10:54:27 PMIt's not the same thing and we're talking about movies.
I'm talking about a movie too
Quote from: Shaka Shart on October 22, 2025, 12:39:30 AMI'm talking about a movie too
I consider it a documentary and it's a great movie because the bad guys won
Inside Man
Lot of really interesting facets to this robbery (no pun intended). But the biggest tragedy, if it was indeed originals that were stolen and won't be recovered, is it nearly ALWAYS leads to the end of the items and/or precious stones.
Hundreds of years ago, even decades, things would get stolen and then randomly appear in a collection when someone died, a house of a collector was sold, or even when items would reappear for sale. Some of the worlds largest or most famous diamonds were "lost" and then found that way. But there is no rich or notable collector that either wants to buy something this hot that they can't display or even if its broken up, the technology is such that the stones will be easily able to be traced back to the stolen item.
So what ends up happening is the stones are recut. So a magnificent huge historical emerald or ruby or diamond that size of a golf ball gets cut into numerous smaller stones and sold that way. Diamonds can still be tricky when it comes to origin and provenance, especially in stones of that size, as big stones are pretty well known once they come out of the ground, much less polished. But the colored gemstones trade is literally the Wild West. A massive rough or polished diamond comes out and a big deal is made of the mine where it was found and who bought and cut the rough. Yet every year massive colored gemstones appear and MAYBE they know what country it came from, cause it passes through so many hands going to market.
Hopefully they are found, but every day that passes, the chances of recovery plummets. The irony is those stones, especially the emeralds, are going to end up as smaller stones in the hands of random every day consumers who don't know that their 1-2 carat emerald recut from a stolen necklace commissioned by Napoleon is any different than another emerald in the store mined normally in Colombia.
Quote from: JWags85 on October 22, 2025, 02:01:15 PMLot of really interesting facets to this robbery (no pun intended). But the biggest tragedy, if it was indeed originals that were stolen and won't be recovered, is it nearly ALWAYS leads to the end of the items and/or precious stones.
Hundreds of years ago, even decades, things would get stolen and then randomly appear in a collection when someone died, a house of a collector was sold, or even when items would reappear for sale. Some of the worlds largest or most famous diamonds were "lost" and then found that way. But there is no rich or notable collector that either wants to buy something this hot that they can't display or even if its broken up, the technology is such that the stones will be easily able to be traced back to the stolen item.
So what ends up happening is the stones are recut. So a magnificent huge historical emerald or ruby or diamond that size of a golf ball gets cut into numerous smaller stones and sold that way. Diamonds can still be tricky when it comes to origin and provenance, especially in stones of that size, as big stones are pretty well known once they come out of the ground, much less polished. But the colored gemstones trade is literally the Wild West. A massive rough or polished diamond comes out and a big deal is made of the mine where it was found and who bought and cut the rough. Yet every year massive colored gemstones appear and MAYBE they know what country it came from, cause it passes through so many hands going to market.
Hopefully they are found, but every day that passes, the chances of recovery plummets. The irony is those stones, especially the emeralds, are going to end up as smaller stones in the hands of random every day consumers who don't know that their 1-2 carat emerald recut from a stolen necklace commissioned by Napoleon is any different than another emerald in the store mined normally in Colombia.
And that's why I only buy conflict diamonds
Quote from: JWags85 on October 22, 2025, 02:01:15 PMLot of really interesting facets to this robbery (no pun intended). But the biggest tragedy, if it was indeed originals that were stolen and won't be recovered, is it nearly ALWAYS leads to the end of the items and/or precious stones.
Hundreds of years ago, even decades, things would get stolen and then randomly appear in a collection when someone died, a house of a collector was sold, or even when items would reappear for sale. Some of the worlds largest or most famous diamonds were "lost" and then found that way. But there is no rich or notable collector that either wants to buy something this hot that they can't display or even if its broken up, the technology is such that the stones will be easily able to be traced back to the stolen item.
So what ends up happening is the stones are recut. So a magnificent huge historical emerald or ruby or diamond that size of a golf ball gets cut into numerous smaller stones and sold that way. Diamonds can still be tricky when it comes to origin and provenance, especially in stones of that size, as big stones are pretty well known once they come out of the ground, much less polished. But the colored gemstones trade is literally the Wild West. A massive rough or polished diamond comes out and a big deal is made of the mine where it was found and who bought and cut the rough. Yet every year massive colored gemstones appear and MAYBE they know what country it came from, cause it passes through so many hands going to market.
Hopefully they are found, but every day that passes, the chances of recovery plummets. The irony is those stones, especially the emeralds, are going to end up as smaller stones in the hands of random every day consumers who don't know that their 1-2 carat emerald recut from a stolen necklace commissioned by Napoleon is any different than another emerald in the store mined normally in Colombia.
Or in Swiss vaults
Quote from: Shaka Shart on October 22, 2025, 03:37:32 PMOr in Swiss vaults
Its not highly publicized, but most of the major Swiss institutions require documentation surrounding gems and jewelry. They are happy to be aloof and unbothered about the flow of funds into the accounts, but they don't like to be sitting on stolen goods or artwork. There was a fairly large rough diamond that was stolen about 20 years ago from an auction in Antwerp. Inside job with armored car and some swapping. The thieves got away pretty cleanly for about 9 months.
Unbeknownst to most, they didn't polish it but basically cleaved it into 2 pieces. One was sold to a dealer in London who contacted DeBeers when his buyer fell through (once their monopoly broke down, DeBeers for awhile was pretty obsessive about buying any large rough diamonds discovered anywhere outside of their mines. Not for any real reason other than pride). He was directed to the executive at DeBeers who headed up their rough sourcing operations at the time, who is a family friend. The Debeers exec, coincidentally, was contacted the same week by one of the prestigious Swiss banks who had someone who had deposited/wanted to a hold a large rough diamond there but couldn't provide any sort of purchase/chain of custody info. The Debeers exec flew down, with the other half of the rough diamond, and basically place them together and see it was two parts of the original stolen stone.
Real National Treasure/James Bond crap, but totally true. The Debeers guy was basically the point man for finding any of the aforementioned large rough stones and acquiring them for the company, originally in the time before smartphones and the internet. So it was a lot of flying to places in Europe/Africa and using connections and friends/associates cultivated over decades. The man has the most insane stories. He has one about Idi Amin, a Ugandan diamond mine, and using a satellite phone while hiding in a bush away from armed militants distracted by a friendly soldier who he bribed that makes Solomon Vandy and Blood Diamond sound like poorly written African conflict fan fiction.
But yea, long story short, Swiss banks aren't your sealed lip confidant for expensive stolen gems unless MAYBE you're a long standing customer of theirs with tons of other assets under their protection. But most jewel thieves, even the best ones, aren't super wealthy dudes like Francois Toulour.
Quote from: JWags85 on October 22, 2025, 04:32:33 PMIts not highly publicized, but most of the major Swiss institutions require documentation surrounding gems and jewelry. They are happy to be aloof and unbothered about the flow of funds into the accounts, but they don't like to be sitting on stolen goods or artwork. There was a fairly large rough diamond that was stolen about 20 years ago from an auction in Antwerp. Inside job with armored car and some swapping. The thieves got away pretty cleanly for about 9 months.
Unbeknownst to most, they didn't polish it but basically cleaved it into 2 pieces. One was sold to a dealer in London who contacted DeBeers when his buyer fell through (once their monopoly broke down, DeBeers for awhile was pretty obsessive about buying any large rough diamonds discovered anywhere outside of their mines. Not for any real reason other than pride). He was directed to the executive at DeBeers who headed up their rough sourcing operations at the time, who is a family friend. The Debeers exec, coincidentally, was contacted the same week by one of the prestigious Swiss banks who had someone who had deposited/wanted to a hold a large rough diamond there but couldn't provide any sort of purchase/chain of custody info. The Debeers exec flew down, with the other half of the rough diamond, and basically place them together and see it was two parts of the original stolen stone.
Real National Treasure/James Bond crap, but totally true. The Debeers guy was basically the point man for finding any of the aforementioned large rough stones and acquiring them for the company, originally in the time before smartphones and the internet. So it was a lot of flying to places in Europe/Africa and using connections and friends/associates cultivated over decades. The man has the most insane stories. He has one about Idi Amin, a Ugandan diamond mine, and using a satellite phone while hiding in a bush away from armed militants distracted by a friendly soldier who he bribed that makes Solomon Vandy and Blood Diamond sound like poorly written fan African conflict fiction.
But yea, long story short, Swiss banks aren't your sealed lip confidant for expensive stolen gems unless MAYBE you're a long standing customer of theirs with tons of other assets under their protection. But most jewel thieves, even the best ones, aren't super wealthy dudes like Francois Toulour.
Irish vaults probably more affordable anyway
Quote from: Shaka Shart on October 22, 2025, 05:00:15 PMIrish vaults probably more affordable anyway
Irish you wouldn't have said that.
https://bsky.app/profile/brianmfloyd.bsky.social/post/3m3v3ffcwy22k
The security at this place does not seem optimal.
Quote from: MU82 on October 22, 2025, 05:03:13 PMIrish you wouldn't have said that.
oh look cancel culture is back :'(
Quote from: JWags85 on October 22, 2025, 04:32:33 PMIts not highly publicized, but most of the major Swiss institutions require documentation surrounding gems and jewelry. They are happy to be aloof and unbothered about the flow of funds into the accounts, but they don't like to be sitting on stolen goods or artwork. There was a fairly large rough diamond that was stolen about 20 years ago from an auction in Antwerp. Inside job with armored car and some swapping. The thieves got away pretty cleanly for about 9 months.
Unbeknownst to most, they didn't polish it but basically cleaved it into 2 pieces. One was sold to a dealer in London who contacted DeBeers when his buyer fell through (once their monopoly broke down, DeBeers for awhile was pretty obsessive about buying any large rough diamonds discovered anywhere outside of their mines. Not for any real reason other than pride). He was directed to the executive at DeBeers who headed up their rough sourcing operations at the time, who is a family friend. The Debeers exec, coincidentally, was contacted the same week by one of the prestigious Swiss banks who had someone who had deposited/wanted to a hold a large rough diamond there but couldn't provide any sort of purchase/chain of custody info. The Debeers exec flew down, with the other half of the rough diamond, and basically place them together and see it was two parts of the original stolen stone.
Real National Treasure/James Bond crap, but totally true. The Debeers guy was basically the point man for finding any of the aforementioned large rough stones and acquiring them for the company, originally in the time before smartphones and the internet. So it was a lot of flying to places in Europe/Africa and using connections and friends/associates cultivated over decades. The man has the most insane stories. He has one about Idi Amin, a Ugandan diamond mine, and using a satellite phone while hiding in a bush away from armed militants distracted by a friendly soldier who he bribed that makes Solomon Vandy and Blood Diamond sound like poorly written African conflict fan fiction.
But yea, long story short, Swiss banks aren't your sealed lip confidant for expensive stolen gems unless MAYBE you're a long standing customer of theirs with tons of other assets under their protection. But most jewel thieves, even the best ones, aren't super wealthy dudes like Francois Toulour.
I'm waiting for Chapter 2 of this post. This is better content than 99% of what comes from Hollywood.
https://bsky.app/profile/scientits.bsky.social/post/3m3whddpf6k2b
Arrests.
Quote from: Shaka Shart on October 26, 2025, 08:57:32 PMWere they trans?
Heard they found "anti-ICE" slogans on the side of the ladder
Quote from: WhiteTrash on October 23, 2025, 03:29:50 PMI'm waiting for Chapter 2 of this post. This is better content than 99% of what comes from Hollywood.
I'm actually stuck on a conference call with tax accountants in India while I watch SNF and half the conversation turns into side conversations in Hindi, so I might as well write a follow up ;D I don't remember if there was a way to spoiler text so people could easily scroll past the novella, but either way, feel free to TL;DR.
****
So I mixed up the Uganda stories slightly, the good one was in the 90s well past Idi Amin, but in his younger years, he was more or less forced to "teach" Amin how to evaluate rough diamonds in a 30 min crash course one time during his reign.
So brief background, our family friend, Andy, was/is a DeBeers lifer. Started out in rough sourcing and trading in West Africa and worked his way up until he ran all diamond sourcing for DeBeers globally out of London. He's lived the sort of professional life that would seem fantastical if not for how casually and nonplussed he is when describing it. He didn't marry or have a daughter until his mid 40s because he spent his 20s and 30s in really rough places, evidenced by the fact that he was an instrumental and involved member of the creation of the Kimberley Process (created to prevent conflict diamonds from entiring the global diamond supply) because not one, but 2 villages/towns where he lived in Sierra Leone were completely leveled by militants within a year of him moving away. Needless to say the idea of "blood diamonds" in reality versus the buzzword posturing about them in public parlance is a meaningful and important one to him.
Anyways, back to the aforementioned story. He'd moved to DeBeers HQ in London after 2 decades in various parts of West/South Africa and was kind of a fixer for sourcing issues for them. DeBeers owns a bunch of mines, primarily in South Africa, Botswana, Canada, and Namibia, but they've always supplemented that supply with rough from other countries, whether its smaller mines throughout Africa or buying rough from Alrosa, the Russian government diamond miner (also hilarious to hear him talk about how clueless and naive the Russians were in business and negotiations post USSR and how they absolutely fleeced Alrosa for years). So when big rough diamonds were found, like I mentioned, he'd get sent, or if there was rough supply from a mine for sale out of normal circumstances, same deal. They had right of first refusal at many mines, but others were a different story.
So one Friday afternoon, he gets a call about a situation in Uganda. Not Amin, but that legendary pretty boy Joseph Kony and his rebels had seized a diamond mine in Uganda during one of the LRA's forays from the north in the 90s. It was a mine that traditionally sold to DeBeers, but obviously the rebels DGAF and a few months production was up for grabs and its critical they get there and buy it before others get word and a bidding war starts. So he's on the next British Airways flight to Nairobi. There, he is met by one of their field associates and taken right to a nearby runway to a private jet that is totally white...no markings or tail numbers. Already an dicey start. So they take the quick flight to Uganda and approach the airstrip and make 3 passes cause they have to chase a herd of goats off the tarmac.
So they land and meet their contact and get taken to the palace that the rebels have commandeered as a HQ. They enter the master bedroom to find the thousands of carats of rough supply. They start to assess and value the goods. The rebel lieutenant supervising them starts to get antsy after a half hour and is basically like "how much longer will this take?" Normally a site this large would take a few days between weighing, inspection, talking to the market to get an idea of what supply is like, etc... The lieutenant scoffs and says "you have 3 hours". And again, the urgency is that there are plenty of other traders and smaller mining concerns who are hovering to try and buy, not just for the supply, but to weaken the DeBeers relationship with that mine/area.
So they hurriedly value the rough stones as best they can and head back to the hotel. Andy takes his big old school satellite phone that was in a briefcase and heads into the field/clearing near the hotel to call back to London and get approval for the buy and subsequent wire. As he's doing that, he feels a tickle in his ear. He slightly turns, as he hears a click, to realize its the barrel of a rifle held by a rebel soldier. The soldier growls that "it is illegal to have a radio in this province without a license", a throwback to the Amin years where radios were banned across the country.
(Andy remarked when telling the story that he always got insanely calm when frightened/endangered. Not because he was particularly brave or steely, but it was one of the things his military officer father had taught him early on. Basically just completely neutralize yourself emotionally whenever you get afraid and work from 0)
So he quickly blurts out "Oh, I was actually looking to purchase a radio license". The soldier immediately brightened and said "I can sell you such a license". After happily accepting a generous bribe, he was Andy's shadow until he left the next day. He directed Andy to a thicket to duck behind and make his call while he stood watch and chatted up any soldiers who came by to distract them.
He gets approval from DeBeers and the purchase moves forward. The next morning they go and get the rough diamonds as soon as they can cause word has spread quickly. They tear back to the airstrip to get the hell out. As the same marking-free jet starts to spool its engines, they are literally chucking cardboard boxes of rough diamonds from the SUV into the plane. Multiple black SUVs come speeding up to the airstrip. Some have diamond dealers, some other soldiers working with said dealers, just chaos as they are being held back/delayed by the soldiers that escorted Andy and his associates to the airstrip. Shouting, pushing, guns brandishing, Belgians, Israelis, South Africans, just a complete scene
As Andy is trying to get out, an American journalist exits one of the SUVs and comes running up asking him questions about the buy details and the negotiation. Not so much trying to get the diamonds, but wanting detail on everything that happened. Andy recognized him from a few other African encounters prior and later and realized a few years later that he was very likely CIA.
They get on the plane and start to taxi, and by that point 2-3 SUVs coming up to the airstrip had turned into 5-6 plus jeeps. But at least that spooked most of the livestock away from the tarmac.
****
Andy told me this story over dinner in Kensington the first time I met him. He even chuckled that it wasn't even one of the best of his stories, as evidenced by my father interjecting a few details that Andy forgot, from the other times my father had heard them. "I never worried about my safety too much in Uganda over the years, surprisingly, but maybe that was just cause they were such a bloody nuisance that I didn't have headspace for much else there"
It was a perfect first meeting too, cause I always jokingly cast doubt on this guy's existence. My dad knows a ton of people from 30 years in the diamond/gem industry, but he's very much an engineer and his close friends/associates were usually similar types who ran the gem labs or other tech/equipment manufacturers. But he always talked about his close friend Andy from DeBeers who sounded like James Bond. Then I finally meet him after hearing about him for a decade, posh and wearing a ascot inside a leather jacket and dropping a story like this. Just as described. But just a fantastic individual, the exact opposite of a bunch of the arrogant stuffed shirts I am using to dealing with at DeBeers (the Americans working at DeBeers in London are particularly the worst), and truly one of the funniest/most traveled/cultured people you could imagine.
He'll never write a book cause he just can't be arsed to and is enjoying retirement far too much, but it would sell fantastically well if he did.
Jwags, this is great stuff. Thanks for sharing. If he ever decided to write a book, I nominate you as a co-writer.
https://bsky.app/profile/perryodontal.bsky.social/post/3m4qlsg5a2k2l