Two men have been arrested for allegedly conning two American businessmen out of $106,000 for the sale of a 14.9 carat diamond.
Mayour Patel, one of the alleged victims, says his father Subhash Patel went to Sierra Leone two years ago with the aim of establishing a business through a friend, who introduced him to a Mrs Barry. Mr Patel Snr. stayed with Mrs Barry in Kono and she introduced him to the gold and diamond business, which Mr Patel Jnr became interested in when his father explained it to him back in the US.
Mayour Patel claims that Mrs Barry introduced him and his father to Sulaiman Tamba Chendeka (suspect 1), the son of Chief Chendeka in Kono, who was in daily contact with them via Skype while they were in the United States. Chendeka told them that one of his miner friends Alhaji Musa Sheriff (suspect 2), had a 14.9 karat diamond for sale for $88,000. Mr Patel Snr sent a deposit for the diamond through Mrs Barry, together with $8,000 for a Kimberlite Certificate, essential in determining or testifying a diamond’s value, and for the diamond to be transported by Mrs Barry and Sulaiman Chendeka to Sheriff in Dubai, where the balance was sent.
Mr Patel Snr went to Sierra Leone in May 2013 and had conference with the two suspects and Mrs Barry, at which point he was asked to pay a further $10,000 in cash for a licence to replace a previously expired one. He went with the suspects to the building at which they claimed the licence could be obtained but had not seen them since dropping them off there.
However, with the help of Mrs Barry and Interpol, the two men were arrested in Guinea and handed over to the Transnational Organized Crime Unit (TOCU) for further investigation.
Mayour Patel told reporters: “I’m afraid for my safety as I frequently receive calls from unknown callers threatening to kill me if I do not back off the matter, as my father will not even see my corpse.”
