The $100 Million Heist: How Priceless Jewels Disappeared from a High-Security Vault in Belgium

Heist of the Century?

In 2003, a team of five put together, what came to be known as the "heist of the century", and to this date, officials have not recovered the loot. Leonardo Notarbartolo was a professional thief with many robberies and heists under his belt, Wired reported. His aim allegedly was to rob small diamond traders in Antwerp, but everything changed when a Jewish man allegedly approached him with a plan. The plan was to steal from the heavily guarded vault at Antwerp Diamond District in Belgium containing diamonds and valuables worth more than $100 million.

Leonardo Notarbartolo

Leonardo Notarbartolo had been involved in anti-social activities since he was a child, Wired reported. By 2000, he had pulled off dozens of major robberies, as per his claims. Notarbartolo came to Antwerp, acting as a jeweler which put him in touch with diamond traders and merchants. His modus operandi was reportedly to buy a few stones and after analyzing the merchant's whole storehouse, clear up their stock a few days later. The thief used to come to Antwerp twice a month and lived in an apartment near the diamond district. He spent the rest of his time with his family in the foothills of the Alps. During one of his visits to Antwerp a Jewish dealer, approached him with an offer.

Antwerp Diamond Centre Vault

The Jewish dealer initially asked Notarbartolo whether the vault could be broken into, Wired reported. Having kept some of his diamonds in the vault, he knew that it was close to impossible. The dealer offered him 100,000 euros to get the photos of the vault, and he agreed. Guards patrolled the building housing the vault, but Notarbartolo was allowed in as he had valuables at the place. There was a three-ton steel vault door placed on the far wall to protect the valuables and had six layers of security. Some sensors would tip off officials at even the slightest of movements.

The Heist

Notarbartolo delivered the photos to the dealer, who again called him back to meet at an isolated location outside Antwerp, Wired reported. He gave him the entire plan and also got him in touch with his co-conspirators nicknamed the Genius, the Monster, and the King of Keys. Another guy nicknamed Speedy was added to the group at Notarbatolo's urging. The group placed a small camera above the vault door and got its combinations. The King of Keys broke the locks of an adjoined building from the vault which was not under surveillance, for the team to enter the facilities. The team quickly collected the valuables and put them in the car Notarbartolo was sitting in on the nearby street. All of them barring Notarbartolo then dashed off from the site on foot. They met up in Notarbartolo's apartment, and to their shock allegedly found multiple bags empty. In place of $100 million, they just had valuables worth $20 million before them.

Arrests Made But No Trace of Diamonds

The robbers were disappointed, but the work was not done yet. Notarbartolo and Speedy went to search for an isolated location to dispose of the evidence that linked the team to this robbery. In a hurry one of the robbers spread it on a narrow strip of forest alongside the E19 motorway. The rubbish was noticed by a local who immediately contacted the authorities and told them about finding envelopes with "Antwerp Diamond Center" stamped on them. Police found an invoice for a low-light video surveillance system under Notarbartolo's name. Notarbartolo was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Three other members, Ferdinando Finotto, Elio D'Onorio, and Pietro Tavano were arrested by police. King of Keys remains outside the clasp of authorities. Notarbartolo claims that the team had been double-crossed. The robbery was allegedly all a ploy by the diamond trader who according to Notarbartolo clued in other merchants who had valuables in the vault, to keep empty bags. The merchants claimed insurance benefits and raked in huge profits, alleges Notarbartolo, Wired reported. Notarbartolo and his conspirators are yet to reveal where he and his team stored the $20 million loot. Investigators never found any evidence of insurance fraud.