850-Pound Emerald In Dispute

Wow.

An 850-pound emerald said to be worth as much as $370 million is in the hands of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department while a court decides who really owns it, a spokesman for the sheriff said.

The “Bahia Emerald”—one of the largest ever found—was reported stolen in September from a secured vault in South El Monte in Los Angeles County. The report was made by someone who claimed to own the giant gemstone, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Lt. Thomas Grubb said.

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A federal judge ordered the sheriff to hold the 180,000-carat emerald until he can sort the case out, Grubb said.