The Blue Diamond Affair

My name is Kriangkrai Techamong, a Thai gardener for a Saudi prince.

Tired of tending to the royal flower beds,
I decided to steal the flawless 50 carat diamond from the prince’s safe.

I also stole the 25 carat ring.

And the gems.

And the ruby.

I climbed into the palace through a second-story window,
broke into the safe using a screwdriver,
and stole the jewleries.

I mailed the jewels to my home in Thailand.
And shortly after, I returned to my homeland.
I sold the stolen jewels to a local jeweler,
Santhi Sithanakan for pennies on the dollar.

The Saudis were able to quickly ascertain what had happened,
and demanded my arrest and the return of the diamond.
Thai police returned the stolen jewels to Saudi Arabia
However, once they received the jewels,
they found out that the blue diamond is missing and gems were all fake.

The Saudis decided they needed to conduct their own investigation,
sending three diplomats and a businessman with ties to the royal family to Thailand.

The diplomats were assassinated and the businessman vanished not after they arrived,
the Saudis blamed corruption within the Thai government.

In retaliation, the furious Saudi government recalled its ambassador from Thailand,
deported more than 90% of the over 200,000 Thai guest workers in Saudi Arabia,
and cut off almost all trade with Thailand.
The wife and son of the jeweler who bought the stolen gems from me were murdered,
a crime the detective in charge of the original heist investigation was eventually convicted of orchestrating.
.

The Blue Diamond Affair remains far from being resolved.
As of 2016, the murders of the Saudi diplomats and the disappearance of the Saudi businessman remain unsolved,
relations between Thailand and Saudi Arabia are still frosty,
and the location of the beautiful blue diamond that I stole remains an enduring mystery.