Mastermind behind 2005 Amsterdam Schiphol €70 million diamond heist arrested in Ibiza

Last Tuesday, an important arrest has been made on the Spanish island of Ibiza. In December 2021, 59-year-old Errol H.V. was convicted on appeal to 9.5 years imprisonment after a major diamond heist at Amsterdam Schiphol in The Netherlands. After being released from jail to wait for his appeal, he disappeared. 

What could have been a good script for a real blockbuster, really happened as on 25 February 2005, two men dressed as KLM workers entered the cargo terminal of Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport in a stolen KLM car. The men audaciously intercepted a truck carrying millions of euros worth of diamonds, which were en route to a Tulip Air plane bound for Antwerp, Belgium.

Armed with pistols, they forced the two drivers of the truck to lie on the ground, before casually driving away with the valuables. The amount was estimated around 70 million euros, marking it as one of the largest diamond robberies ever recorded.

Part of the diamond haul was recovered from the getaway car but – to date – the majority of the gems are still missing. Only twelve years later, after a long undercover operation, police were able to gather enough evidence to prosecute. Seven people were arrested in Spain and Amsterdam in 2017.

In January 2019, a Dutch court imprisoned four people, and released two others for being not guilty while one had died. Errol H.V., the mastermind behind the heist, was given a seven-year jail term. He and the other gang members appealed the ruling and were allowed to wait for their appeals in freedom.

The Dutch Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie) confirms reports from De Telegraaf that the robber was arrested at the request of the Dutch authorities and that The Netherlands is requesting his extradition. It is not clear when he will be extradited.