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Originally posted by FeeFee
Kim is Lil' upset

250G bling-bling swiped from her bag at JFK, rapper says





By ALICE McQUILLAN
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER


Rapper Lil' Kim, shown performing at Giants Stadium on June 3, lost $250,000 in jewelry from baggage she checked at JFK Airport.

Her bling-bling is missing.
Rapper Lil' Kim, who thinks big when it comes to jewelry, said someone swiped $250,000 worth of her baubles at Kennedy Airport this weekend.

Two of her signature pieces - a white-and-yellow diamond-encrusted gold necklace with a crowned "B" and platinum dog tags filled with yellow diamonds - were snatched from her luggage Friday, the Daily News has learned.

"She was extremely upset, but she should be commended for acting responsibly and being patient," said her high-powered lawyer Mel Sachs.

The 4-foot-11 rapper, famous for her skimpy, eye-popping outfits, was headed to Los Angeles for tomorrow's Black Entertainment Television awards.

Nominated as best female hip hop artist, she was set to perform - and wear the jewelry. Lil' Kim, 27, is rarely seen without her "B" necklace - a symbol of her Queen Bee Records label.

Catching an 8:45 a.m. United flight to L.A., the Brooklyn-born rapper planned to carry on a Louis Vuitton bag filled with an estimated $500,000 worth of jewelry, including the two custom-made necklaces.

However, there was a mixup at the check-in counter and the carry-on bag was checked in with eight other pieces of luggage belonging to the rapper and her entourage, Sachs said.

While in her first-class seat waiting to take off, Lil' Kim realized the error. The flight was delayed while the Vuitton bag with the jewelry was retrieved from the baggage hold.

Although it still contained her earrings, rings and other jewelry, the two oversize necklaces were missing, said Sachs. The bag looked "tampered with" - both an outside flap and a jewelry holder inside had been opened, he said.

United had advance notice that Lil' Kim was taking that flight, Sachs said, suggesting her fame and penchant for gems made her a target.

"Lil' Kim is known for her exceptional and distinctive custom-made jewelry and had two irreplaceable pieces of her collection stolen," he said. "Celebrities like Lil' Kim are vulnerable to being targeted and being victims of this kind of theft."

Her latest CD, "La Bella Mafia," reminds fans of her taste for bling-bling, the rap word for big jewelry that's soon to be in the Oxford English Dictionary.

"Don't be mad," she raps, "I can't put this money in a casket. ... I can't take these diamonds with me when I die."

Lil' Kim, whose given name is Kimberly Jones, didn't take the 8:45 a.m. flight, which was thoroughly searched when it landed in Los Angeles. Her Vuitton bag was tested for fingerprints, and baggage handlers and other airport employees were due to take polygraphs, Sachs said.

Alan Hicks, a spokesman for the Port Authority, said only, "Kimberly Jones filed a report for lost jewelry, and the incident is under investigation by the Port Authority police."

She said she was sure she packed the missing items but her Englewood, N.J., mansion was checked anyway, Sachs said.

This is not the first time a celebrity has reported losing pricey baubles at JFK.

A Kennedy baggage handler pleaded guilty to stealing Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson's $375,000 diamond necklace and bracelet in 1995.

He swiped the valuables while loading luggage aboard a British Airways jet two days after Fergie wore the gems to a White House reception.

Im sorry, but that was a dummy move on her part. When I fly, ALL of my important valuables are with me...........clothes are the only thing I check in. It would be hard for me to forget that much of valuable jewlery..........