Samrat Patel (name changed), a diamond dealer from Surat, has become a frequent visitor to Sierra Leone, a diamond mining country in West Africa. Patel, like many other dealers from Surat, travels to Sierra Leone multiple times a year, purchasing high-value rough diamonds from artisanal workers employed in the local diamond mines
A diamond dealer who is a frequent visitor to Sierra Leone told The Blunt Times, “We have a network of artisanal workers in Sierra Leone from whom we purchase diamonds”. “They (artisanal workers) steal the diamonds from mines and they have to sell it within a day or two. Since we pay them in dollars, it is a quite a big deal for the poor workers”