{UAH} An infamous, decades-old jewel heist may have played a role in Alqunun’s fate

An infamous, decades-old jewel heist may have played a role in Alqunun's fate

Thailand and Saudi Arabia have had a tense political relationship, dating back to a series of dramatic events that took place in the 1980s and '90s — including an infamous jewel theft from a Saudi prince and several subsequent murders, all of which resulted in a state of "diplomatic nightmare" between the two countries.

In 1989, a Thai gardener named Kriangkrai Techamong was working in the palace of Saudi Prince Faisal bin Fahd in Riyadh. In the dead of night, Kriangkrai climbed a wall, slipped into a bedroom, and opened the family safe. He then made away with 200 pounds of jewels and gems worth more than $20 million — including a rare blue diamond, necklaces and watches lined with diamonds and sapphires, and, according to the Washington Post, "rubies the size of chicken eggs." (The entire incident later became known as the "Blue Diamond Affair.")

Kriangkrai was one of many servants on the opulent palace grounds, and he later told authorities he thought his theft would go largely unnoticed because the family was so fabulously wealthy.

Though the full details of the heist have not been made public, the Daily Beast reported that he may have used a vacuum cleaner bag to sneak out the loot — a move that would not have seemed suspicious, since Kriangkrai sometimes worked as a palace janitor as well.

Kriangkrai shipped the treasure home and then made his own way back to Thailand a short while later. He sold off the stolen jewels to a local dealer and thought he had gotten away with it, but authorities found and arrested him within a few months of his return.

Thai officials then located the stolen items and returned them to the prince — or so they had thought. Saudi officials discovered that only about 20 percent of the jewels were real, and the rest were forgeries.

Wild allegations were thrown back and forth. There were reports that the wives of Thai diplomats were parading around Bangkok wearing the original jewels, and senior Thai police officers were accused of being involved in the crime.

To keep some semblance of diplomatic ties, Thailand charged the senior police official who led the original investigation with embezzlement in 1991, after recovering approximately $120,000 worth of the real jewels, which had been sold by Kriangkrai's original dealer to various parties in the country. However, Saudi Arabia was less than satisfied, since the blue diamond was — and remains — missing.

The dealer, Santhi Sithakanan, was abducted a few years later and threatened, and his wife and son were found dead in a car shortly after. The truth about their deaths has never been made public, but some suspected it was the work of senior Thai police officials who had been involved in the scandal.

Relations between Thailand and Saudi Arabia hit a real low point after four Saudi diplomats who had arrived in Thailand a month after Kriangkrai's arrest turned up dead near Bangkok. The cause of their deaths has not been revealed, but the timing was definitely strange. According to Joshua Kurlantzick, a Southeast Asia fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations, people speculated at the time that there was a connection between their deaths and the case of the missing jewels.

In response, the Thai diplomatic missions in Riyadh and Jeddah were downgraded to the less powerful charge d'affairs level, a largely symbolic move to express Saudi discontent with Thailand. Hundreds of thousands of Thai workers in Saudi Arabia lost their work permits and were forced to return home. At one point, Thai Muslims who wanted to take pilgrimages to the holy city of Mecca were denied permission to enter the country.

Pongsudhirak, the political science professor in Thailand, told me that after nearly three decades, relations haven't improved much. "The Saudis appear prepared to move on, but relations are still contentious," he said, due to the fact that senior Thai police officers involved in the investigations have been promoted. "The thaw," he said, "is moving at a glacial pace." And these still-frosty relations may have contributed to Thailand's decision not to deport Alqunun.

--

Gwokto La'Kitgum

Find Me on LinkedIn

----------------------------------------------------------------

"Even a small dog can piss on a tall building." Jim Hightower

"If I'm right, and I'm pretty sure I am," writes Dr. Epstein, Trump is capable of only a minimal level of analytical or critical thinking." (Photo: DonkeyHotey/flickr/cc)

--
Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com