The Blue Diamond Affair

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Editor’s Note
Dear readers,

I’ve covered everything from lost cities to corporate scandals, but few stories grip me like this one: a single act of desperation by a low-level palace worker that triggered unsolved murders, billions in economic damage, and a diplomatic rupture lasting longer than most marriages. The Blue Diamond Affair isn’t just true crime — it’s a masterclass in how greed, corruption, and royal pride can unravel nations. What follows is the definitive narrative, drawn from court records, diplomatic cables, BBC investigations, and the thief’s own haunting words. Buckle up.

The Palace Heist: A Thief in the Night

Riyadh, summer 1989. The opulent palace of Prince Faisal bin Fahd — eldest son of Saudi King Fahd — shimmered under the desert sun. Inside, a Thai janitor named Kriangkrai Techamong moved silently through marble halls. He was one of hundreds of thousands of Thai migrant workers flooding Saudi Arabia during the oil boom, sending remittances home that propped up Thailand’s economy.

Kriangkrai had gambling debts and saw opportunity. The prince and his family were away for three months. Three of four bedroom safes were routinely left unlocked. Over several weeks — or in one daring sweep, accounts vary — he taped jewels to his body, stuffed others into vacuum-cleaner bags and cleaning equipment, and amassed nearly 91 kilograms (200 pounds) of gold watches, rubies, necklaces, and one legendary prize: a rare 50-carat blue diamond. Valued at around $20 million total, the haul was staggering.

He hid the loot in the palace, then shipped it home to Lampang province in northern Thailand via cargo — bribing customs officers with cash and a note claiming the boxes contained “pornographic materials” to avoid inspection. Kriangkrai followed soon after, leaving Saudi Arabia before anyone noticed.

Smuggled Home — and the First Cracks Appear

Back in Thailand, the jewels proved hard to fence. Kriangkrai sold most cheaply to Bangkok jeweler Santhi Sithanakan. Saudi authorities, tipped off, alerted Thai police. Lieutenant-General Chalor Kerdthes, a high-ranking officer, led the investigation. Kriangkrai was arrested in January 1990. He cooperated fully, revealing hiding spots and buyers.

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Thai police recovered a substantial portion. Chalor personally flew the items to Riyadh as a goodwill gesture. But when Saudi experts examined the return, fury erupted. The 50-carat blue diamond — described by gemologists as one-in-10,000, its color from trace boron formed deep underground — was gone. Roughly half the gems were fakes: paste copies substituted for the real stones. Rumors swirled in Bangkok that photographs from charity galas showed Thai officials’ wives wearing suspiciously familiar necklaces.

The Night the Diplomats Died

The scandal turned lethal. On 1 February 1990, three Saudi diplomats were gunned down in coordinated attacks in Bangkok’s Thung Mahamek district. Two visa-section officials were ambushed in their car; a third was shot outside his residence. Weeks earlier, another Saudi diplomat had been killed in Si Lom. On 12 February, Saudi businessman and royal-family associate Mohammad al-Ruwaili — sent to investigate privately — vanished in Bangkok and was presumed murdered.

Saudi Arabia blamed Thai authorities for a cover-up. No direct link to the jewels was ever proven in court, but the kingdom was convinced the murders silenced investigators. Theories abounded: Thai police eliminating witnesses, Iranian hit squads (a claim later floated in leaked U.S. cables), or unrelated underworld scores. To this day, the diplomat killings remain officially unsolved.

Furious, Saudi Arabia downgraded diplomatic ties to chargé d’affaires level. They halted new work visas for Thais, discouraged tourism, and effectively imposed sanctions. The human cost was devastating: Thai workers in Saudi Arabia plummeted from 150,000–300,000 to around 10,000. Remittances losses reached an estimated 200 billion baht — roughly $5.6 billion. For a developing economy reliant on overseas labor, it was a body blow that lingered for decades.

Police Corruption and the Jewel Swap

The deeper scandal emerged slowly. Investigations revealed that Chalor Kerdthes and elements within the Royal Thai Police had allegedly pocketed the best pieces, replacing them with fakes before the return shipment. Santhi Sithanakan, the jeweler, and his family became targets. In 1994–95, Santhi’s wife and son were murdered — officially a “truck accident,” but forensics showed blunt-force trauma. Chalor was charged with ordering the killings to silence extortion victims.

He was convicted, sentenced to death (later commuted), and served nearly 20 years before a royal pardon in 2015. Several other officers faced charges; some received life sentences, others were later acquitted. Kriangkrai himself served only about three years of a seven-year term for cooperating.

The blue diamond’s fate? Never recovered. No authenticated photographs exist. Some speculate it was recut and sold on the black market; others whisper it still sits in a Thai vault or was destroyed. Gem experts note its rarity — blues like this often trace to South Africa’s Cullinan mine — but its exact provenance remains as mysterious as its disappearance.

Accusations, Denials, and Lingering Distrust

Saudi diplomat Mohammed Said Khoja, sent as chargé d’affaires, stayed for years and pulled no punches. In a 1994 New York Times interview he declared: “The police here are bigger than the government itself… I feel I am fighting the devils.” He insisted the murders and jewel theft were intertwined and that Thailand had failed to deliver justice.

Thailand countered that it had investigated thoroughly and that the murders had no proven link to the gems. Courts acquitted five police officers in al-Ruwaili’s disappearance as late as 2019, citing lack of evidence. Saudi Arabia maintained the Thai government had not done enough “to resolve the mystery surrounding Al-Ruwaili’s assassination and that of three other Saudi diplomats.”

The standoff became one of modern history’s longest diplomatic freezes — longer than some Cold War rifts.

The Human and Economic Toll — and a Fragile Reconciliation

For ordinary Thais, the affair was catastrophic. Migrant families lost livelihoods overnight. Thailand’s economy absorbed billions in lost income while Saudi Arabia lost reliable labor.

Then, in January 2022, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha flew to Riyadh — the highest-level visit in over 30 years. Meeting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, he expressed “sincere regret over the tragic events in Thailand between 1989 and 1990.” Full diplomatic relations were restored. Ambassadors returned, direct flights resumed, and Thai workers were welcomed back. Trade, tourism, and petrochemical deals followed.

The timing reflected mutual needs: Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 demands labor; Thailand seeks investment. Yet beneath the handshakes, the blue diamond’s shadow lingers.

The Curse That Still Whispers

In March 2016, Kriangkrai Techamong — then 65, living quietly as a farmer — shaved his head and donned saffron robes. At his ordination ceremony, attended by the very police general who once investigated him, he told reporters: “I want to be ordained for life to erase the curse of the Saudi diamond… and to dedicate my merit to the people ensnared by my karma, and those who died in all these past events. I want everyone’s forgiveness.”

He changed his surname to protect his son and still fears retribution decades later. “What happened was like a nightmare to me,” he told the BBC.

Whether the diamond carries a literal curse or merely the weight of human greed is beside the point. One man’s theft exposed the fragility of trust between nations, the rot of unchecked police power, and the devastating ripple effects of corruption on the powerless.

The blue diamond may never surface. The diplomats’ killers may never be named. But the lesson endures: in the game of power and priceless gems, the smallest stone can topple empires — or at least freeze them for a generation.

What do you think happened to the diamond? Drop your theories in the comments. And if this tale of royal intrigue and international fallout left you wanting more, hit share — these stories thrive when they travel.

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