COLOMBO, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan Police on Tuesday recovered a rare diamond worth an estimated 27 million U.S. dollars from a suspect who had allegedly stolen it from a gem merchant in Pannipitiya, in the outskirts of capital Colombo last year, local media reported.

The suspect was nabbed from Panadura, in the island's south with the diamond and other precious gem stones in his possession.

A Police Spokesperson told Xinhua that the diamond was stolen from the gem merchant in November, when a group of thieves, disguised as police officers, forcibly entered the residence of the gem merchant under the instructions of a drug kingpin.

Further investigations are ongoing to nab the remaining perpetrators.