Smugglers defy conflict-diamonds ban in CAR

Diamond smuggler Akani Natacha Glawdys tilts a tiny gem in her palm and smiles as a sparkle ripples through the rough yellow rock.

"See?" she asks excitedly in a room at the Relais des Chasses hotel in the Central African Republic capital, Bangui. "A bit cloudy, so not the best, but still good." If it were clearer, the stone could fetch as much as $2,000 from local traders who export to buyers in Europe, she said. The gem's opacity means it will only fetch $700.

Gladwys, 34, is part of a trafficking network that unashamedly flouts a diamond-trading ban imposed on her country by the Kimberley Process, a global gem-verification group formed to halt the outflow of precious stones from conflict zones. It is a sign of the complete chaos in Central African Republic, the only country among 22 diamond producers to be covered by a ban.