A pastor in Sierra Leone has found one of the world's largest uncut diamonds and passed it to the country's president.

Emmanuel Momoh found the 706 carat diamond in the eastern region of Kono.

He handed it to a local chief who then passed it on to Sierra Leone's president Ernest Bai Koroma in the capital Freetown.

It is now being stored in the central bank, according to government sources.

Mr Koroma said: "When something like this comes to the government it has to go through the right process."


The presidency said in a statement that Mr Koroma thanked the chief, who acted as an intermediary, for not smuggling it out of the country.

The government plans to auction the precious stone.

It has not been valued but it is the largest diamond found in the country since 1972, when the 969 carat Star of Sierra Leone was discovered.

In May last year, mining firm Lucara sold a 813-carat diamond for £51m at an auction in London.