WINDSOR, Ont. (CBS Cleveland) - A 52-year-old thief is behind bars and watched around the clock, because after stealing a $20,000 diamond, he reportedly swallowed the stone.

As such, police are now waiting for the man to make a bowel movement, so that they can retrieve the expensive jewel.

The man is being held in a cell without a toilet, according to a report by CBC News.

“We are monitoring his bowel movements, if you will,” Sgt. Brett Corey told the station.. “Our forensic identification people are the lucky ones who have to go through the waste to obtain the diamond once it passes.”

He reportedly took the 1.7-karat diamond on May 10, when he tried to fool the owners of the jewelry store from which he took it with a sleight of hand and a fake stone.

The clerk noticed, however, and alerted store owner Dan Thomas. He inspected the replacement stone and determined it to be a fake.

While Thomas and his employees were alerting the authorities, the thief reportedly swallowed the stone in plain sight of the surveillance system.

“You can see it on the video camera,” Thomas added to CBC News.

Six minutes later, police arrived and arrested the man. As of Tuesday morning, the police were allegedly still waiting for the man’s bowel movement.

He will reportedly face charges of theft over $5,000.