Nearly one kilogram of cut diamonds and other jewellery has been seized from a Russian tourist at Moscow's Domodedovo airport, according to Russian customs officials.

The officials said that the unnamed 35-year-old woman from Buryatia, Siberia was returning from the United Arab Emirates. X-rays of the woman's handbag revealed a valuable watch and when the woman and her bags were searched, more than 35,000 stones and several pieces of jewellery made from white-gold and diamonds were allegedly found. According to the officials, none of the items had been declared.

There were so many stones it took airport officials over 12 hours to count just half of them, The Associated Press reported. Estimates have valued a third of the stones and jewellery to up to USD1m. The woman apparently said she had bought the items for herself in the UAE and paid USD115,000 for them.