Security tightened at Sharjah jewellery show

The recent diamond heist at the India International Jewellery show in Mumbai has made organisers of diamond and jewellery exibitions in the UAE more cautious.

Visitors to the Middle East Watch and Jewllery exhibition, progressing at the Sharjah Expo Center are subjected to rigorous security checks and monitoring. 

Security has been beefed up at the venue of the major Gold and Jewllery exhibition in the Emirate where diamond merchants and jewellers from around the world are showcasing their high-cost products. 

Diamonds were in great demand since most of the visitors on the first day of the exhibition were women.

“All visitors to the exhibition hall are subjected to intensive body checks and their belongings are scanned using specially installed scanners before allowing them inside the exhibition hall. The number of police officials stationed inside the exhibition hall is also increased and their presence is felt by each visitor,” said sources associated with Sharjah Expo. 

The Sharjah Jewllery Exhibition is a major annual event in which gold and diamond merchants from around the world throng to the UAE as they have many regular customers and concrete sales take place during the show.

Photography is also strictly prohibited in the expo hall and each visitor’s identity and credentials are checked thoroughly before allowing them entry to the 16,000 square meters of floor space. 

“Security checks and surveillance have been beefed up to avoid any crimes in such a high profile event. The number of theft cases and break-ins in Sharjah has been going up and the police and security officials are more vigilant now,” a source in Sharjah Police said.

More than 450 master jewellers and jewellery houses from all over the world are exhibiting diamonds, pearls, precious stones, gold and diamond jewellery, diamond and pearl sets, crystals, watches, jewellery displays, and different kinds of tools used in the trade.

More than forty jewellers and diamonds from India are present in the exhibition. Seurity personnel at the exhibition site are closely monitoring the footages from CCTV cameras. The main problem is the ladies areas where many woman wearing burkah and face cover cannot be easily identified.

Gold and diamond merchants in India and other parts of the world were shocked to learn that a female visitor to the India International Exhibition at Mumbai, stole a box containing diamond worth $1.45 million and the group from Brazil left the exhibition hall, but were caught a few hours later while transitting Dubai International airport.

The four-member gang that smartly committed the theft in the Goregaon exhibition hall was nabbed by the Dubai Police and handed over to Indian authorities.

It was reported that the thieves were part of an international gang which committed similar thefts in Hong Kong, Paris and other Asian countries. 

Mumbai police have already received inquiries about the culprits from six other countries where such thefts happened.

The four — Gurrero Lugo Eliva Grissel, her husband Gutierrrez Orlando, a Venezuelan national, Campos Molan Elias, and Gonzalez Maldonado Mauricio — were arrested in Dubai and deported to India.

One of the culprits in the diamond heist, a Mexican, had managed to escape the Dubai Police net.

Security is expected to tight at the forthcoming Dubai International Jewellery Week from October 7 to 10, at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center.
 

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