X-ray shows diamond earrings swallowed by theft suspect during arrest – police
As he was being taken into custody, the suspect swallowed several items troopers believed were the earrings, police said.
A suspected thief swallowed two pairs of diamond earrings during his arrest on the side of a Florida road, detectives say, leaving them with the unenviable task of waiting to “collect” the Tiffany & Co jewellery worth nearly 770,000 dollars (£597,000).
An X-ray of the suspect’s torso showed what the Orlando Police Department believed to be the diamond earrings — a white mass shining brightly against the grey backdrop of his digestive tract.
“These foreign objects are suspected to be the Tiffany & Co earrings taken in the robbery but will need to be collected… after they are passed,” the department’s arrest report said.
The 32-year-old man from Texas is accused of forcibly stealing the earrings from an upscale Orlando shopping centre last Wednesday.
During the theft, the man allegedly told Tiffany sales associates he was interested in purchasing diamond earrings and a diamond ring on behalf of an Orlando Magic basketball player.
Sales associates escorted the man to a VIP room where he could view the jewellery. A short time later, he jumped out of his chair, grabbed the jewellery and tried to force his way out of the door, it is alleged.
One of the sales associates was injured trying to block him but managed to knock the diamond ring out of his hands.
Detectives obtained the licence plate of the suspect’s car through shopping centre security footage and believe he was driving to Texas.
State troopers tracked the car until it was pulled over for driving without rear lights in Washington County, almost 340 miles away, the Orlando police report said.
As he was being taken into custody, the suspect swallowed several items troopers believed were the earrings, police said.
The suspect was charged with first-degree felony grand theft and robbery with a mask, a third-degree felony. Court records showed no lawyer for him, and he was listed as being in police custody in Orange County Florida, which is home to Orlando, as of Wednesday morning.
