Bangkok History Highlight: The Blue Diamond Affair [S8.E29] (Classic ReCast)

Another classic recast! One of the craziest stories from recent Thai history. Continuing our series on interesting episodes in Thai history, this episode focuses on the infamous Blue Diamond Affair, It all started when a Thai gardener named Kriangkrai Techamon, who was working in Saudi Arabia, decided to make off with $20 million worth of gems and jewelry belonging to a Saudi royal. Although the thief was caught shortly after his return to Thailand, he had already sold much of the loot, including the famed 50 karat 'Blue Diamond.' No problem - the gems were returned to Saudi Arabia and an apology issued. Case closed! BUT! Soon after the treasure was returned, Saudi authorities claimed that over half of the returned gems were fake, including the Blue Diamond. The Saudi authorities sent a special team of investigators to Bangkok to investigate...and what followed was a tale of murder, kidnapping, and black magic, with the ultimate result being a near-total diplomatic breakdown between the two countries that continues to this day (update - diplomatic relations were restored in 2022). It's a plot almost too twisty for Hollywood, but listen in for details on one of the strangest episodes in Thai history. As always, the podcast will continue to be 100% funded by listeners just like you who get some special swag from us. And we'll keep our Facebook, Twitter, and LINE accounts active so you can send us comments, questions, or whatever you want to share.Bangkok History Highlight: The Blue Diamond Affair

You can listen to Bangkok History Highlight: The Blue Diamond Affair [S8.E29] (Classic ReCast) online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Bangkok History Highlight: The Blue Diamond Affair [S8.E29] (Classic ReCast) is an episode from The Bangkok Podcast | Stories, Rants & Conversations on Life in Asia's Craziest City by Greg Jorgensen & Ed Knuth.

This episode is 29:02 long.

This episode was published on Jan 27, 2026.

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