The Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) has postponed its plans to transport 300,000 carats of diamonds to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, after armed robbers raided African Consolidated Resource’s (ACR) offices in Harare on Tuesday.

ACR has been involved in an ongoing legal ownership dispute with Mbada Diamonds, a joint venture between Zimbabwe’s Mining Development Corporation(ZMDC) and Grandwell, to mine diamonds at Chiadzwa after the Zimbabwe government expelled ACR from the controversial fields.

The Supreme Court ordered that the diamonds be moved to the reserve bank to be kept by a neutral body pending the resolution of the ownership dispute.

According to a report by ZimOnline, officials believe the robbers had information about the planned movement of the diamonds and broke into the office, beating ACR staff.

“We suspect the raid has to do with the intended transportation of diamonds from our offices to the RBZ as per the Supreme Court ruling,” an MMCZ official told ZimOnline.

Sources in the diamond industry expressed shock at the incident and have called for increased security within the industry.

Last month the Zimbabwe government canceled a planned diamond auction of the 300 000 carats by Mbada, saying no gems from the controversial field could be sold without valid certification by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS).