Historical Heist

The Antwerp Diamond Heist

Antwerp, Belgium, has long been recognized as the world’s premier diamond trading hub. The Antwerp Diamond District is home to hundreds of diamond dealers, buyers, and traders, making it one of the most secure and closely guarded areas in the world. At the center of this bustling diamond trade was the Antwerp Diamond Center, a building equipped with a state-of-the-art vault designed to store millions of dollars in diamonds, gold, and other valuables.

The vault was located two floors underground, secured by a ten-layer security system that included motion detectors, infrared heat sensors, Doppler radar, magnetic fields, and a steel door with 100 million possible combinations. It was considered impenetrable—until February 2003, when a group of thieves managed to bypass all these measures and make off with over $100 million in diamonds and jewels.

The mastermind behind the Antwerp Diamond Heist was Leonardo Notarbartolo, an Italian criminal and career thief with a reputation for pulling off sophisticated heists. Posing as a diamond merchant, Notarbartolo had rented an office in the Antwerp Diamond Center for nearly three years, giving him access to the building and allowing him to study its security systems. This undercover work was essential to planning the heist and gaining the trust of the diamond traders in the district.

Notarbartolo wasn’t acting alone. He led a team of skilled criminals known as “The School of Turin,” a group of Italian thieves with expertise in lockpicking, electronics, and security systems. Each member of the team played a specific role in the heist, ensuring that every aspect of the vault’s security could be overcome.

The heist itself took place over the weekend of February 15-16, 2003. Here’s how the thieves managed to bypass one of the most secure vaults in the world:

Before entering the vault, the team disabled the security cameras in the building. They had studied the camera feeds for months, figuring out how to avoid detection. This allowed them to enter the Antwerp Diamond Center without triggering any alarms.

Once inside, the team faced the daunting task of bypassing the vault’s advanced security system. Using a combination of cunning techniques, including blocking motion detectors and jamming infrared sensors, the thieves disabled many of the vault’s protective measures. They even used a homemade aluminum shield to prevent a light sensor from detecting their movements.

The vault door was equipped with a sophisticated lock featuring 100 million possible combinations. To crack it, the thieves used a custom-made device that recorded the dial’s movements, allowing them to decode the combination. They also sprayed the vault’s magnetic field sensor with hair spray, which interfered with its ability to detect the door being opened.

Once inside, the thieves accessed 123 of the 160 safe deposit boxes that contained diamonds, gold, and other valuables. Rather than waste time picking each lock, they used a small drill to open the boxes quickly and efficiently. In total, they stole an estimated $100 million worth of gems and precious metals.

By the time the robbery was discovered on Monday morning, the thieves had vanished, leaving behind little evidence of how they managed to pull off the impossible.

Despite the extraordinary planning and execution of the heist, the thieves made a few mistakes that ultimately led to their downfall. While the heist itself was nearly flawless, Leonardo Notarbartolo’s attempt to cover his tracks was less successful. On his way back to Italy, Notarbartolo and his team dumped incriminating evidence—such as empty jewel bags, receipts, and surveillance footage—along a roadside in Zaventem, a town outside Brussels. Unfortunately for them, the evidence was discovered by a local farmer, who immediately contacted the police.

Notarbartolo was arrested shortly afterward and convicted of orchestrating the heist. In 2005, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, although he has consistently maintained that the value of the stolen goods was far less than $100 million. According to Notarbartolo, the heist was part of an inside job, and some of the stolen diamonds had already been removed before the robbery took place. Whether or not this claim is true, the majority of the diamonds have never been recovered, and the identities of some of Notarbartolo’s accomplices remain unknown.

The Antwerp Diamond Heist continues to captivate people around the world for several reasons:

The value of the stolen goods—estimated at over $100 million—made the Antwerp Diamond Heist one of the largest diamond thefts in history. The sheer amount of money involved, coupled with the fact that most of the diamonds were never recovered, gives the case an air of mystery that remains unsolved to this day.

The meticulous planning and execution of the heist have been described as a masterclass in criminal engineering. From disabling security systems to cracking an “impenetrable” vault, the heist demonstrates an almost superhuman level of patience, technical skill, and nerve. It’s no wonder that the heist has been compared to Hollywood movies like “Ocean’s Eleven.”

Even though Leonardo Notarbartolo was caught and convicted, many questions remain unanswered. Who were the other members of “The School of Turin”? Where are the stolen diamonds now? Was the heist really part of a larger inside job? These unanswered questions continue to fuel speculation and intrigue, making the Antwerp Diamond Heist one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in the world of crime.

Despite extensive investigations, most of the stolen diamonds have never been recovered. Some believe they were quickly sold on the black market and laundered through international gem traders, while others think the diamonds are hidden, waiting for the heat to die down. The fate of these precious gems remains one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the case.