$16,500 diamond found in thief's stomach, says Spanish authorities

GlobalPost

A thief in Spain allegedly stole a purse and then swallowed a diamond worth $16,500, according to Spanish authorities. Police found the diamond after an X-ray of the alleged thief's stomach.

A British tourist reportedly sat down with another woman at a restaurant in Marbella, a beach resort. The tourist put her purse on the floor, according to a police statement. Two well-dressed men then entered the restaurant, with one grabbing a seat at the bar and another at a table nearby. Before long, the man at the nearby table left the restaurant with the tourist's purse.

The British tourist reported to authorities that her purse was stolen with a diamond inside, the Associated Press reports.

Police later stopped a car at a routine checkpoint and found four men with criminal records along with the purse inside the car, MSNBC reports. But then one of the officers noticed something suspicious.

"An officer saw one of the men put his hand to his mouth, like he was hiding something. The man was taken to a medical center, where the X-ray revealed the diamond in his stomach," AP states.

The bag also contained £400 and 2,000 euros in case and a mobile phone, reports the Daily Mail.

Police did not identify the four detained men.

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