The Crime Book

55

See also: The Société Générale Bank Heist 44 ■ The Hatton Garden Heist 58–59

The unfinished sandwich

Everything had gone like clockwork

for the gang, but they became

sloppy during their escape. One

gang member, known as “Speedy”

(later identified by police as Pietro

Tavano), hastily discarded a bag of

trash in a forest alongside the E19

motorway north of Brussels.

A local farmer found the bag

and called the police after noticing

envelopes from the Antwerp

Diamond Centre, a videotape, and a

half-eaten salami sandwich, which

was later discovered to contain

traces of Notarbartolo’s DNA.

Notarbartolo was subsequently

arrested, along with three

accomplices including Speedy,

for committing what the press had

labelled “the heist of the century.”

Police searched Notarbartolo’s

apartment and discovered 17

diamonds in his home safe, which

they traced back to the vault. More

diamonds were found hidden in

a rolled-up carpet. In 2005,

Notarbartolo was sentenced to

10 years; his fellow conspirators

were jailed for five years each.

BANDITS, ROBBERS, AND ARSONISTS

Missing puzzle pieces

Notarbartolo claimed in a 2009

interview with Wired magazine

that a diamond merchant hired The

School of Turin for the heist, and

that the robbery was part of

a complex insurance fraud.

Authorities doubted this claim,

however, and did not pursue it.

What is beyond doubt, though,

is that except for a few stones, the

loot has never been found. The fifth

member of the gang, nicknamed

the “King of Keys”, has also not yet

been identified. ■

The Diamond Squad

In 2000, the Belgian Ministry

of Justice established a

special police force to guard

and investigate crimes taking

place in Antwerp’s diamond

district. This unique six-

member police force is led by

inspectors who are uniquely

well connected with the

diamond business. The head

of the “Diamond Squad”,

Agim De Bruycker, was in

charge of the investigation

into the Antwerp Diamond

Heist that secured

Notarbartolo’s arrest.

However, in March 2015,

De Bruycker was arrested on

suspicion of money laundering.

Diamonds worth £365,000

were later discovered in his

home. Members of his team

had allegedly become

suspicious after he purchased

an expensive villa and a new

Range Rover shortly after

his divorce was finalized.

De Bruycker was consequently

suspended pending an

investigation.

De Bruycker’s arrest is not

the only scandal to befall the

diamond squad. In 2004,

€1.6 million (over £1 million)

worth of diamonds, seized as

part of a fraud investigation,

vanished from police custody.

They have not been recovered.

I may be a thief and a liar

but I am going to tell you

a true story.

Leonardo Notarbartolo

Combination

dial

Keyed lock

Locked steel

gate

External

security

camera

Magnetic

sensor

Light sensor

Keypad for

disarming

sensors

Internal security

camera

Heat/motion

sensor

The nine security layers at the Antwerp vault

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