The Diamond Smugglers
First edition cover
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| Author | Ian Fleming |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Diamonds, smuggling, Sierra Leone, South Africa |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
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Publication date
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November 1957 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 160 |
| OCLC | 488366423 |
The Diamond Smugglers is a non-fiction work by Ian Fleming that was first published in 1957 in the United Kingdom and in 1958 in the United States. The book is based on two weeks of interviews Fleming undertook with John Collard, a member of the International Diamond Security Organisation (IDSO), which was headed by Sir Percy Sillitoe, the ex-chief of MI5 who worked exclusively for the diamond company De Beers.
The IDSO was formed by Sillitoe to combat the smuggling of diamonds from Africa, where, it was estimated, £10 million (£217,431,365 in 2017 pounds) worth of gems were being smuggled out of South Africa alone every year. The book expands upon articles Fleming wrote for The Sunday Times in 1957.
Fleming was better known as the author of a series of books about his super-spy creation, James Bond; The Diamond Smugglers is one of two non-fiction books he wrote. It was broadly well-received, although some reviewers commented on the stories not being new.
The Diamond Smugglers is the account of Ian Fleming's meeting with John Collard, a member of the International Diamond Security Organisation (IDSO). The book takes the form of background narrative by Fleming of where the two men met, interspersed with the interview between Fleming and Collard, who is introduced under the pseudonym of "John Blaize".
Collard relates how he was recruited into the IDSO by Sir Percy Sillitoe, the ex-head of MI5, under whom Collard had worked. The book goes on to look at the activities of the IDSO from the end of 1954 until the operation was closed down in April 1957, when its job was complete. Collard explained that the IDSO was set up at the instigation of the Chairman of De Beers, Sir Philip Oppenheimer, after an Interpol report stated that £10 million of diamonds were being smuggled out of South Africa each year, as well as additional amounts from Sierra Leone, Portuguese West Africa, the Gold Coast and Tanganyika.
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