(IDEX Online) - Two former employees have been cleared by a court in Namibia of stealing marine diamonds worth $420,000 from a Debmarine vessel.
The main prosecution witness against Emmanuel Shikololo and Rodney Klim, both aged 48, did not give a credible account, said the judge at Windhoek High Court.
Klim was alleged to have reported a blockage in the vessel's vacuum air transfer unit in November 2011 so that Shikolo had cause to enter the recovery plant, where he was alleged to have picked up the diamonds.
Evidence from Dawid Jarvis, Debmarine Namibia security officer, had to be approached with caution, said the judge. He played a leading role in a sting operation which ended in the arrest of the two defendants.
Debmarine Namibia is a 50/50 joint venture by De Beers and the government of Namibia and is the world's biggest producer of marine diamonds - 1.4m carats annually.
Ships use a track-mounted remote-controlled crawler to bring up gravel, which is washed, sifted and sorted on board.
Pic shows the Debmar Atlantic