Where did Chor Kriang Krai go after all? After the theft was revealed, the Thai administration sentenced it to five years in prison. But due to his good conduct, he was released within three years. After this, in 2016, Chor became a Buddhist monk.
Image Credit source: @ChowkidarKim Twitter handle.
Do you know that one theft broke the relations between the two countries for decades? This story was very famous in history. It was given a name, Blue Diamond Affair. But before that we will tell what happened after all that we are remembering this old story. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met the Prime Minister of Thailand in Bangkok last week. Earlier, Thai PM had visited Saudi.
Three decades after diplomatic relations between Thailand and Saudi Arabia broke down over the ‘Blue Diamond Affair’, the countries are working to improve relations. SUdi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met the Prime Minister of Thailand in Bangkok last week and signed agreements to expand diplomatic ties between the two countries. Ties were restored earlier this year itself. Three decades after a high-profile jewelery theft, also known as the Blue Diamond Affair, relations between the two countries were severed.
Just because of this scandal, the relations between the two countries were broken, which are now trying to reconnect. Prince Salman’s visit to Thailand took place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. The Crown Prince said that both countries would benefit from the restoration of relations.
Blue Diamond Affair:#SaudiArabia and #Thailand have announced to re-establishing their diplomatic ties, after more than three decades of relationship linked to the theft of $20 million jewels from a Saudi palace in 1989.
(Unloved Mystery) pic.twitter.com/l6CzkADA5y
— Kim (@ChowkidarKim) January 26, 2022
So, what is the Blue Diamond Affair?
The year was 1989. Jewels and precious gems were stolen from the palace of Prince Faisal bin Fahd, the eldest son of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. Their weight is said to be around 91 kg. But the most important among all these was Blue Diamond. This theft was carried out by a Thai servant named Kriang Krai. The servant had hidden the jewelry in the vacuum cleaner. A 50-carat diamond, known as the Blue Diamond, was also involved in the theft.
According to reports, Kriang Krai had won so much trust that he could even go to the royal bedroom. One evening the servant entered the room of Prince Faisal. Kriang Krai knew that the safes in the room were open. It was told in a BBC report that he stole valuables worth about $ 20 million. After the robbery, the servant arranged to send it to his country. He hid it in a large cargo delivery. Left the country until the theft was discovered.
Big bribe given to Thai officials
However, according to Thai rules and regulations, it was not easy for any goods to enter Thailand without inspection. Kriangkrai managed this by bribing the officials. According to a report, he also wrote a note in an envelope along with a large sum of money, saying that the cargo contained obscene material, which should not be searched, and their plan worked.
Saudi claims – Diamonds were fake
After briefly evading arrest, in January 1990, Thai police captured Kriangkrai at his home in Thailand’s North Lampang province. Kriangkai was sentenced to seven years in prison, but was released after three years because he cooperated with the police and confessed. Soon after, most of the loot was returned to Saudi Arabia. While some he sold to a jeweler in Bangkok. However, Saudi authorities have claimed that many of the recovered jewels were fake.
This theft took many lives
Amidst all this, the investigation took a bloody turn with a series of murders in Thailand. In February 1990, gunmen killed three Saudi diplomats in Bangkok. A week later, a businessman close to the Saudi royal family who had gone to Bangkok to investigate on his own went missing and is believed to have been murdered. Relations then soured as Saudi Arabia downgraded its ties with Thailand. As a result, thousands of Thai migrant workers lost their jobs. Saudi Arabia stopped issuing work visas to Thais and forbade its own citizens from going to Bangkok.
Relations between the two countries ended
After this, this process continued like this. Relations between the two countries ended. Now a thought must be coming in your mind that where did Chor Kriang Krai go? After the theft was revealed, the Thai administration sentenced it to five years in prison. But due to his good conduct, he was released within three years. After this, in 2016, Chor became a Buddhist monk. Blue Diamond diamond has not been found till date. However, Kriangkrai believed that the diamond was cursed and that is why many calamities befell the Prince’s family. But now it is expected that bypassing the old things, both the countries want to return to a new track.
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