 According to American gem expert Richard W. Hughes, Danes was general manager of "Lao Securicor" (a subsidiary of Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited), a company that provided a security guard for the Vientiane office of the country's biggest sapphire mine, Gem Mining Lao (GML).Amidst allegations of missing gems, the registered owners and founders/executives of GML had been prohibited from leaving Laos.Security contractor Kerry Danes formally agreed to handle all affairs for GML prior to two of their founders fleeing Laos on 28 May 2000 to Bangkok, Thailand (and later Denmark).