|
The Rise and Fall of Diamonds (4325 words) |
 | Sillitoe admittedly had no knowledge about the diamond business, but he suggested that the techniques of counterintelligence that he had employed during the war against the Germans could effectively be used against smugglers. |
| Sillitoe next learned that the cartel's problem was not the trickle of diamonds being stolen from its South African mines but the flood of diamonds that were smuggled out of west and central Africa every year. |
| Sillitoe realized that the illicit diamond traffic could not be ended decisively as long as the smugglers had high rewards for their goods and only minimal risks of being captured. |
| Sir Percy Sillitoe (1549 words) |
| Sillitoe believed that as the public could play a useful rôle in helping the security organization, it was equally important that the existence of this body should be well known to the public. |
| Sillitoe took the view that the British counter-espionage service should not be given powers which would put it into the same category as the Secret Police of a totalitarian state. |
| Sillitoe planned a quiet retirement, running a sweet shop in Eastbourne, and the remainder of his term proved comfortingly uneventful (in fact the retired D-G was to be lured away from Eastbourne to hunt diamond smugglers for de Beers). |
Feeds |
Contact