MUTARE , Zimbabwe, Dec. 4  -- Among the many ills plaguing Zimbabwe, the one many consider Africa's nastiest ailment, diamond fever, has a firm, fearsome hold, officials say.

Sleepy towns such as Mutare in Zimbabwe's "wild east" have awakened to find their quiet streets rife with opportunists and black marketers, illegal miners, swaggering foreigners, gun-toting thugs and sudden death.

Diplomats, industry sources and others believe the Marange field could be one of the most significant diamond discoveries in decades, The Los Angeles Times reported.

According to reports from industry and security services, officials of President Robert Mugabe's regime are looting the diamonds, the Times report says.

"The diamond game is the filthiest game in town and everyone's into it," a source told the Times. "It's not even semi- organized chaos. It's a bunch of thieves who backstab each other.

"A lot of leaders of the political regime are involved in trading. They have their own diggers and traders. But it's all to their personal account. They've all got a vested interest in chaos." (UPI)