Odds are you won’t get a cab in New Hampshire’s largest city after police sidelined all 18 licensed taxis for inspection failures or failing to show up for inspection.   

Seventeen cabs in Manchester were cited for mechanical violations. The 18th was sidelined for failing to show up.

Police Lt. Maureen Tessier said six of the 18 cabs had such severe defects including conditions that could compromise their brakes, inspectors pulled their registrations and they had to be towed.

Queen City Taxi has surrendered its operating permits to the city clerk’s office. The taxi that wasn’t inspected belongs to Manchester Taxi Dispatch. The companies haven’t commented.

Tessier says officials appreciate the inconvenience to those among the city’s 110,000 residents who rely on taxis and will work with the companies to get the taxis back on the road.

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Must Be Hard to Swallow

Police say the X-rays don’t lie: A man who tried to flee from a New Hampshire jewelry store with a diamond ring worth $3,200 swallowed it.

Employees at Bellman’s Jewelers in Manchester say Ronald Perley came in and was looking for an engagement ring.

Police say the 52-year-old Perley picked up a ring and ran toward the door.

Workers confronted him, saying they saw Perley put his hand to his mouth and swallow. He denied swallowing the ring.

Police got a search warrant and brought him to Elliot Hospital, where X-rays showed the 14-karat white-gold ring with princess-cut diamonds inside him.

Perley was arraigned on charges of theft and falsifying physical evidence. It wasn’t immediately clear whether he had a lawyer. His $50,000 bail includes the ring’s recovery.