Gem Smuggling Thwarts Revival of Central African Republic
- Government had $35,000 budget to combat illicit sales
- Former leader Jean-Bedel Bokassa wore a diamond crown
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In the lounge of a luxury hotel in Bangui, the capital of war-torn Central African Republic, soft-spoken diamond dealers cautiously sidle up to guests.
Their whispered offers of gems for sale are a visitor’s first hint of the thriving illegal market for the precious stones in a country that five years ago was ranked as the world’s 10th-biggest diamond producer and is now mostly controlled by armed militias.