Diamond Smuggling Charges Dropped

TUCSON, Ariz. - Federal prosecutors have dropped charges against one man accused of smuggling "conflict diamonds" into the U.S. and trying to sell them at a Tucson gem show and reduced charges against a second man to a misdemeanor.

Federal agents in February said they seized 11,000 carats of uncut diamonds from the pair and estimated their value at between $250,000 to more than $2 million.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents said after their arrest they believe the diamonds were smuggled into the country from Africa in violation of the Clean Diamond Trade Act. The 2003 law bans the import of diamonds unless they undergo a rigorous certification procedure called the "Kimberley Process" to ensure they do not come from illegal trade that supports conflicts.

The men are Maliki Diane, 60, and Saoud Kouyate, 48.

Diane is a native of Sierra Leone who is a U.S. citizen living in New Jersey. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor related to bringing goods into the United States by means of false statements, according to court documents, and was given one year supervised release and fined up to $10,030.

Charges against Kouyate, a native of Guinea and resident of Madagascar, were dropped, according to an agreement filed in federal court in Tucson last week that required him to give up any claim to the stones.

Diane's defense attorney, Rosemary Marquez, said the diamonds were actually low grade industrial-quality stones used in dental drills and for stone-cutting.

Marquez said they were "incredibly cheap" and are often bought by the kilo.

Wyn Hornbuckle, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix, said the $220,000 value was correct and said the stones should have gone through the Kimberly Process.

Marquez said there was never any link establishing the stones as ``conflict diamonds'' because of their low quality.

Virginia Kice, spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the agency will continue to investigate the illicit diamond trade.