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Will Australian police use strong arm tactics and make a Briton tourist suspected of stealing a $200,000 pink diamond from a Cairns jewellery store undergo colonoscopy and forced bowel movement to recover the precious stone allegedly swallowed?

That unusual medical procedures that lasted 14 hours were resorted to by American cops in the case of suspected cocaine smuggler David Eckert of Deming, leading to his winning a lawsuit against the police department.

YouTube/Police State USA

The Briton suspect, aged 29, was arrested over the weekend at Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport while trying to board a plane bound for New Zealand. He allegedly stole it on Feb 15 from the Diamond Gallery in Cairns as it was shown to him. Senior Sargeant Greg Giles said police tracked the thief based on fingerprints.

Ironically, the man, Matthew Mark Luke John Osborne has four first names that were apparently taken from the four Gospel writers of the Christian Bible.

The police are unsure if he swallowed the diamond or disposed of it since the X-ray was inconclusive. Mr Osborne appeared in a Melbourne court over the weekend after an extradition order was granted which would lead to his being flown to Cairns and appear before the Cairns Magistrates Court to face stealing charges.

If the pink diamond would still be recovered from Mr Osborne's body or elsewhere, store owner Keith Bird said it would no longer be placed on display. The precious stone was scheduled to be purchased by a local buyer, Mr Bird disclosed.

Sourced from the Argyle mine in remote Western Australia, the pink diamonds command a price tag 20 times higher than the average price of its equivalent white diamond.

YouTube/WorldBuyni

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