Suspected Smuggled Goods Confiscated in Guyana

Some 4,000 carats of rough diamonds were confiscated Monday from Explorers Trade and Commerce in Guyana, because the company could not prove they were mined in the country. Authorities suspect the goods were smuggled in.

While authorities were quoted as saying they suspected the goods entered the country from Africa, the source could also be bordering Venezuela, which is being accused of violating the Kimberley Process.

Mining inspectors that surveyed the area where the company claims they unearthed the diamonds could not find any evidence to confirm their claims, Guyana’s mining commissioner Bill Woolford told Associated Press.