An Irish tourist who stole a diamond ring from a jeweler gave Turkish police a hard time when he thought the best place to hide it was his stomach.

The 54-year-old Ian Campbell was examining a $40,000-ring at a jewelry store in the southwestern town of Marmaris when he slipped it into his pocket with a sleight of hand.

Just as he was leaving the place, a staff noticed that one of the rings in a glass display case was missing and stopped Campbell from leaving before proceeding to call the police.

Police officers could not find the ring and suspected that the man had swallowed it.

An X-ray examination of his body at the local hospital revealed the ring was indeed in his colon. The ring has yet to be recovered.