Diamond in the rough

Police wait for man to pass the stone

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Windsor, Ontario:  Police in Canada say they are waiting for a man accused of stealing a $20,000 (Dh73,466) diamond and swallowing it to produce the evidence.

It has been nearly a week since Richard Mackenzie Matthews, 52, is alleged to have switched a diamond at Precision Jewellers in Ontario and swallowed the real one.

Matthews is being held at police headquarters while investigators wait for the 1.7-carat stone to pass through his system. Sgt Brett Corey said on Thursday that Matthews has gone to the washroom numerous times, but the diamond hasn't passed.

Corey says a recent X-ray showed a pair of fake diamonds, or cubic zirconiums, stuck in the man's intestines but because a diamond is translucent, it isn't visible. He says the suspect is eager to get the ordeal over with and is cooperating.

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