S. Africa cops: Man held over 220 diamonds in belly

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By ReutersJOHANNESBURG -- South African police have arrested a 25-year-old man suspected of attempting to smuggle 220 diamonds out of the country in his digestive tract through Johannesburg's main airport.

Follow @NBCNewsWorld The Lebanese national bound for Dubai had swallowed $2.25 million worth of polished diamonds before he was stopped at a security checkpoint at Africa's biggest airport and then relieved of his concealed cargo, police said.

"We used laxatives to remove the diamonds," police spokesman Paul Ramaloko said Thursday.

In March, police arrested another Lebanese national who was attempting to smuggle $1.69 million worth of diamonds out of South Africa.

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Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions. 7 commentsJoin the discussion Explore related topics: crime-courts, weird-news, world, south-africa, airport, diamonds

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