Thief who swallowed diamonds must retrieve them from bowel movement himself (Video)

An accused jewel thief who swallowed two diamond engagement rings before his arrest has been ordered to retrieve them himself.

Mark Watts is being held in the Brisbane city watchhouse until he returns the rings, with police insisting he does not need a hand.

"At the moment he hasn't passed them,'' said Francesca Antonaglia-Monteverde, from the chain of stores that owns the rings. "He's in the watchhouse and there's a toilet there. He has to retrieve them himself.''

Watts has been sitting on the country's most anticipated bowel movement ever since the case was revealed in The Courier-Mail on Tuesday.

He is accused of swiping the rings, worth a combined $59,000, after posing as a customer at Crown Family Jewellers at Indooroopilly Shopping Cente on Friday.

When workers cornered him, he swallowed the rings - a one carat diamond solitaire ring and 1.53 carat yellow diamond surrounded by 28 white diamonds.

Doctors have told Watts the jewellery could take five to seven days to reappear...

Source: News.com.au

Update, Dec 6:

Police trusted the alleged ring thief to return his swallowed loot - but he never delivered.
X-rays have confirmed David Watts now has only one of two stolen rings inside him.
The other lost ring is suspected to have been in waste bags he handed to police, which were disposed without a search.
Deputy Commissioner Ross Barnett today said internal investigators from Ethical Standards Command had been called in and police would discuss compensating the owners for their loss.