The Associated Press Published: February 8, 2007
found at http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/08/america/NA-GEN-US-Diamond-Smuggling.php

TUCSON, Ariz.: Maliki Mohamad Diane, 60, of Guinea, and Kouyate Saoud, 49, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Sierra Leone who now lives in New Jersey, remained in custody after a detention hearing Thursday in federal court in Tucson, Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lauren Mack said.

A $10,000 (€7,700) cash bond was set for Diane's release but he remained in custody pending an appeal by the U.S. Attorney's office, while Saoud's detention hearing was postponed, Mack said. Both entered not guilty pleas, according to a federal public defender.

The men were arrested at a Tucson motel Sunday after they reportedly sold a seven-carat rough diamond to undercover Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents posing as gem buyers for $15,300 (€11,777) the previous day.

Agents searching the men's room found the diamonds, all believed smuggled into the country from Africa in violation of the Clean Diamond Trade Act, according to ICE. The 2003 law bans the import of diamonds unless they undergo a rigorous certification procedure to ensure they do not come from illegal trade.

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"The violence and bloodshed spawned by profits from the illegal diamond trade have left millions of people in Africa dead or homeless," said Alonzo Pena, special agent in charge of ICE investigations in Arizona. "We will not allow unscrupulous gem dealers driven by greed to put lives at risk."

Diane's attorney, federal public defender Victoria Brambl, said she has not had an opportunity to review any evidence the government may have against her client.

"Obviously he's entered a plea of not guilty and there's a presumption of innocence," Brambl said. "We're hoping that a lot of facts develop in his favor."

Saoud's lawyer, Rosemary Marquez, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Saoud came under suspicion after he told undercover agents at a gem show in Tucson that he had uncut diamonds for sale, according to an ICE statement. They met with him at his motel and bought a stone on Saturday. During the meeting, he told the agents the diamonds were brought into the U.S. illegally and that he was expecting another shipment.