10 January 1990

Saudi gem thief arrested, fake jewels and police cover-ups begin decades-long saga

A Thai man suspected of stealing jewellery and gems worth over 500 million baht from Prince Faisal Fand Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia in 1989 was arrested following a huge police manhunt.

Kriangkrai Techamong, 29, who was among five Thai workers accused of conspiring to steal the Saudi jewels, was later sentenced to five years in jail.

Kriangkrai was working as a gardener at a Saudi royal palace in 1989 when he stole a number of precious gems and jewellery items, including a priceless ‘blue diamond’ that had still not been recovered 20 years later. Kriangkrai returned to Thailand and sold the stolen jewellery through middlemen. Three other suspects were arrested in late December of 1989.

In March, Thai police handed over a stash of recovered jewels in a public ceremony in Saudi Arabia aimed at publicising the efficiency of the Thai police and at mending strained relations between Thailand and the Gulf state. But in another twist to an increasingly mysterious tale, most of the returned jewels turned out to be fakes. In an escalation of the case, a number of senior Royal Thai Police officers were implicated in the stealing and switching of the jewels.

The disappearance of a Saudi businessman, who had been sent to Thailand to help investigate the robbery, fuelled speculation that Thai police were involved in a cover-up, which led to a rapid and long-lasting deterioration in Thai-Saudi relations.

10 January 1990

Saudi gem thief arrested, fake jewels and police cover-ups begin decades-long saga

A Thai man suspected of stealing jewellery and gems worth over 500 million baht from Prince Faisal Fand Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia in 1989 was arrested following a huge police manhunt.

Kriangkrai Techamong, 29, who was among five Thai workers accused of conspiring to steal the Saudi jewels, was later sentenced to five years in jail.

Kriangkrai was working as a gardener at a Saudi royal palace in 1989 when he stole a number of precious gems and jewellery items, including a priceless ‘blue diamond’ that had still not been recovered 20 years later. Kriangkrai returned to Thailand and sold the stolen jewellery through middlemen. Three other suspects were arrested in late December of 1989.

In March, Thai police handed over a stash of recovered jewels in a public ceremony in Saudi Arabia aimed at publicising the efficiency of the Thai police and at mending strained relations between Thailand and the Gulf state. But in another twist to an increasingly mysterious tale, most of the returned jewels turned out to be fakes. In an escalation of the case, a number of senior Royal Thai Police officers were implicated in the stealing and switching of the jewels.

The disappearance of a Saudi businessman, who had been sent to Thailand to help investigate the robbery, fuelled speculation that Thai police were involved in a cover-up, which led to a rapid and long-lasting deterioration in Thai-Saudi relations.