Gems Recovered From Crime Ring

MOSCOW — Russian police have cracked an international crime ring dealing in stolen gems and seized $28 million worth of emeralds and other precious stones, a top official said Sunday.

Presenting part of the booty, a jewel case holding huge cut emeralds worth $1 million, First Deputy Interior Minister Vladimir Kozlov said the confiscated gems included stones from Russia’s Ural Mountains and fake diamonds from other countries.

A Russian organized crime ring known as Uralmash was a key player in the gem deals, Kozlov said on Russia’s RTR television Sunday night. He said investigations are still under way in Russia and abroad, but he didn’t say in which countries. He said some suspects had been arrested.

The seizure, made over the past few weeks, included raw and cut stones.

Kozlov said the police operation was connected to a series of raids by Russian agents last fall that uncovered $200 million worth of stolen diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and other gems.