by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2013
A huge stash of jewels stolen from a Saudi palace, hidden in a vacuum cleaner bag… an alleged 50-carat blue diamond… many of the jewels found and returned… but were they real? And who is the Elvis impersonator caught up in the whole thing? Sounds like the plot of a movie-of-the-week. But it’s all real! It’s (cue the theme music) The Blue Diamond Affair!
Back in 1989, a Thai worker at Prince Faisal bin Fahd’s palace snuck into one of the princesses’ bedrooms and helped himself to a huge stash of jewels and gems. Hiding them in a vacuum cleaner bag, he got them out of the palace and quickly shipped them off to Thailand, and then high-tailed it out of Saudi Arabia. Once back in Thailand, he found it difficult to sell the treasures. A jeweler heard of the whole affair and purchased many of the pieces for just a fraction of their worth.
The Saudis quickly figured out they’d been robbed and notified the Thai authorities. A Thai Police team, led by Lt-General Chalor Kerdthes, quickly found the thief. He was sentenced to 7 years in jail (reduced to 3 once he confessed to the crime). The Lt-General also tracked down the stolen jewels and personally flew to Saudi Arabia to return them to Prince Faisal.
Here’s where the intrigue really gets good! Upon examining the returned jewels, it was discovered that many of the pieces were fakes – most of the gems having been replaced with paste copies – and the famed 50-carat blue diamond was still missing. Suspecting the Thai authorities of not being completely honest about the whole situation, the Saudis sent a representative to Bangkok to get to the bottom of things. But before he could figure things out, the plot takes a more sinister turn. First, the Saudi consul was killed, as well as two Saudi embassy staff members. Two days later, the businessman disappeared, presumed to have been murdered as well. So far, these four murders remain unsolved.
Convinced that the Thai police were involved in the murders, Saudi Arabia severely restricted their diplomatic relations with Thailand. They canceled visas and work permits for the Thais, and barred Saudi citizens from traveling to Thailand. A new Saudi representative was sent to investigate. He claims that the four Saudis had found vital information regarding the jewels and were murdered to keep them from passing the information along. A few years later, the jeweler (generally believed to have been the one who replaced the gems with fakes) was kidnapped and tortured, and then his wife and son were found dead. It was quickly discovered that all of this was all done at the orders of Lt-General Kerdthes.
Kerdthes was charged with the murder of the jeweler’s family. He was found guilty and sentenced to death in October 2009. (In 2001, King Bhumibol Adulyadej reduced the sentence to 50 years in prison). He was also convicted, in 2006, of receiving the stolen Saudi jewels. However, neither the jeweler nor Kerdthes have revealed anything more about the whereabouts of the jewels. Lt-General Kerdthes remains in jail, where he has put a band together, and recorded a cover version of Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock.” He continues to profess his innocence.
And to this day, there’s still no word about whatever happened to the famed Blue Diamond…
Who Knew?!
Wikipedia: Blue Diamond Affair
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