Armed robbers disguised as police took $US50 million worth of diamonds in a holdup on the tarmac at Brussels airport on Monday night.
The Antwerp World Diamond Centre said the robbery at Zaventem airport occurred just before 8pm when eight men in two black vehicles with blue markings drove through security barriers on to a runway.
Brussels prosecutors spokeswoman Anja Bijnens said at least 120 packets of gems were stolen from the cargo hold of a Swiss passenger aircraft that was about to take off on the runway.
Bijnens said the robbers were wearing police uniforms and carrying machine guns.
''No shots were fired and no one was injured," she said.
According to the AWDC, some $US200 million worth of stones move in and out of Antwerp every day.
The gems included rough stones as well as cut diamonds that were being transported to Zurich.
AAP reports diamonds and jewels worth 75 million euros that were being shipped to Antwerp, were stolen from a KLM vehicle at Schiphol airport, Amsterdam, in February 2005.
And 100 million euros worth of stones were stolen from a vault of the Antwerp Diamond Centre in February 2003.
There are more than 4500 diamond dealers in Antwerp.
