(CNN) -- Night had fallen. Some 20
airplane passengers had taken their
seats for the short hop from Brussels,
Belgium, to Zurich, Switzerland.

Unknown to them, a precious cargo
was being loaded into the airplane
hold along with their suitcases: $50
million in rough and polished
diamonds.

But the diamonds would never reach
their final destination.

Shortly before 8 p.m. Monday, eight
masked men in two vehicles burst
through the perimeter fence of
Brussels Airport and sped toward the
aircraft on the tarmac.

The men, who authorities said wore
clothing resembling police uniforms,
were heavily armed.

While no shots were fired and no one was injured, the pilot, co-pilot and a transport security guard were all threatened at gunpoint, said Ine Van
Wymersch, of the Public Prosecutor's Office in Brussels.

Within three minutes, the thieves had snatched the diamonds from the hold,
said airport spokesman Jan Van der Cruysse.

Drag queens, fake beards and chocolates: Notable
diamond heists Moments later they left
the scene, racing out through the same breach in the airport periphery
through which they had entered.

The robbers, four in each car, had
broken a hole in the fence where it
ran between two construction sites,
Van Wymersch said at a news
conference.
"This was a very precise, almost
military-organized and well-executed
robbery," Van der Cruysse said.

He said it was a "big surprise" that
such a slick heist been possible -- but
pointed the finger at organized crime.
"We are an airport that is, as all
international airports are, subject to
very strict aviation security and safety
regulations," he said.

The aircraft targeted was a regular
passenger flight operated by Helvetic
Airways on behalf of Swiss,
Switzerland's national airline.

It's not yet clear how the thieves knew
that the diamonds would be on
board.

But this was not a chance holdup,
said Van Wymersch, describing the
men involved as "professionals."
Antwerp, the city known as the
world's diamond-cutting capital, lies
only about 25 miles away from
Brussels.

The Antwerp World Diamond Centre
has on average $200 million in stones
coming in and out daily, and it takes
security very seriously, a spokesman
told CNN.

He was unable to confirm reports that
gold and platinum were stolen along
with the diamonds.

It's not the first time that Antwerp's
centuries-old diamond trade has
been targeted.

The city was the scene of a spectacular
robbery in 2003 when thieves made
off with the contents of more than
100 safes at the diamond center.

Those gems were never recovered.
Some 34,000 jobs in the city are
connected to the diamond trade,
according to the Antwerp World
Diamond Centre, from mining
company representatives to dealers to
the craftsmen who polish the stones.

www.cnn.com/2013/02/19/world/europe/belgium-diamond-heist/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

*James Bond movies*

Definitely an inside job