Plea bargain helps diamond heist accused get away with 21-month RI

After a successful bargain plea and a mutual settlement between the international gang of robbers and the diamond company that was robbed in August last year,a Metropolitan Magistrates court sentenced the accused to 21-month rigorous imprisonment.

After a successful bargain plea and a mutual settlement between the international gang of robbers and the diamond company that was robbed in August last year,a Metropolitan Magistrates court sentenced the accused to 21-month rigorous imprisonment. The actual sentence of seven years was brought down to 21 months after the accused pleaded guilty to robbery in January.

The court on Tuesday observed that the four had accepted the crime,so there guilt plea application,which went undisputed by the prosecution,too,was accepted by it. The plea pardon is accepted to help the courts clear its backlog and reduce congestion in jails, Magistrate D H Sharma said.

Soon after the court pronounced the judgment,one of the convicts,Guerrero Lugo Elivia Grissel,only woman in the group,broke down before the judge. Unable to communicate in English,she sought leniency through her interpreter. Another accused,Orlando,showed picture of one of his five sons back home and claimed he was the only earning member of the family. We are not mafia as portrayed by the police. My sons are young and they have no one to take care of them back home in Venezuela, he told the court.

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However,the court observed that as the crime had taken place in a systematic way with proper preparation,no leniency could be shown.

According to the police,Guerrero Lugo Elivia Grissel,Campos Molan Elias and Gonzalez Maldonado,all Mexicans,and Gutierez Orlando,a Venezuelan,had walked in a gem and jewellery show in Goregaon last August posing as potential buyers and stole diamonds worth Rs 6.73 crore. Immediately after the robbery,the four had fled to Dubai. After checking the CCTV footage,Interpol was alerted with the identity of the accused and they were held at Dubai airport within 24 hours. The fifth accused is still absconding. About 246 diamonds were recovered from them. An additional 1,641 diamonds were recovered after a courier boy alerted the police on suspecting something fishy with a consignment meant for Rome.

Soon after the robbers had accepted their guilt,a settlement was struck between them and Dalumi Group,the company that was robbed of the diamonds. A sum of Rs 55 lakh was paid to the company as a tokenof compensation along with the Rs 6.73 crore worth diamonds that were robbed. The state,too has been paid a compensation of Rs 5 lakh.

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Plea bargain helps diamond heist accused get away with 21-month RI

After a successful bargain plea and a mutual settlement between the international gang of robbers and the diamond company that was robbed in August last year,a Metropolitan Magistrates court sentenced the accused to 21-month rigorous imprisonment.

After a successful bargain plea and a mutual settlement between the international gang of robbers and the diamond company that was robbed in August last year,a Metropolitan Magistrates court sentenced the accused to 21-month rigorous imprisonment.