Tourist Swallows 2 Million Naira Diamond While Trying To Steal It

A Chinese tourist suspected of swallowing a diamond worth 2 Million Naira ($13,600) was arrested on Wednesday by the Sri Lankan Police at the country’s biggest international gem and jewellery exhibition.

The suspect, Chow Cheng, 32, is believed to have swallowed the diamond as he inspected it at the exhibition, attended by buyers from China, Hong Kong, Thailand, India and Europe, police have said in a statement.

“His intention was to steal it,” Police Spokesman Ajith Rohana told Reuters. “The x-ray shows the diamond is in his throat.”

Suresh Christopher Wijekoon, owner of the exhibition stall caught Chow trying to switch the original diamond with a synthetic one. “He realized that I noticed it. Then he immediately swallowed it.”

Sri Lanka is an island of the Indian ocean, and it is famed for its blue sapphires, diamonds and a jewelry industry that accounted for $532 million of its export revenue in 2011 alone. The suspect will therefore undergo sugery to recover the swallowed diamond. Maybe he’s not a thief, he just wants to live forever. Don’t they say diamonds are forever?