South African police arrest man who swallowed 200-plus diamonds
November 16, 2012
A 25-year-old man was recently apprehended at the Johannesburg airport in South Africa, after he reportedly tried to smuggle hundreds of diamonds out of the country by swallowing them, according to NBC News.
The police report that the man was attempting to smuggle 220 diamonds through his digestive tract. The man, from Lebanon, was making his way to Dubai when he swallowed about $2.25 million worth of diamonds, according to the news source. He was then stopped at the security checkpoint and was relieved of his cargo and then arrested.
"We used laxatives to remove the diamonds," police spokesman Paul Ramaloko told the news outlet.
This isn't the first time this was attempted, either. In March, another Lebanese man attempted to to smuggle $1.69 million worth of diamonds out of South Africa, but was arrested by police before doing so successfully, the media outlet reports.
Those who want to talk about the recent diamond-smuggling man who was arrested can make calls to South Africa using international calling cards.