Woman in Court over "Pebbles for Diamonds" Heist
August 06, 20
(IDEX Online) - A woman has appeared in a British court over the audacious heist in which a gang swapped $5.3m of diamonds for a bag of worthless pebbles.
Georgeta Danila, 52, was extradited from France last month and has now been charged with conspiracy to steal from the luxury London jeweler Boodles (pictured), in March 2016.
The thieves posed as wealthy Russian businessmen to dupe jewelers out of seven stones, including a 20ct heart-shaped jewel worth $2.8m. The gang also got away with a three-carat pear-shape fancy intense purple pink diamond worth $1.4m, and a six-carat Ashoka-cut diamond.
The elaborate sting allegedly centered on a switch, in which a woman posing as a gemologist managed to exchange the diamonds for pebbles after weighing and examining them.
Detectives said the astonishing raid was like something from the Ocean's Eleven movie franchise, starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt.
Danila pleaded not guilty to a charge of conspiracy to steal, along with three named individuals and unknown others. She was remanded in custody pending a further hearing on 1 September.