Thief Swallows $19,000 Pendant. Police Wait Six Days for Nature to Take Its Course

An odd jewelry theft in Auckland took a natural twist at the end. It’s amazing the strange lengths some people will go to when stealing valuables.

Stories of thieves stuffing drugs in their anal orifices or other bodily openings are pretty common. While that seems to be a simple in-and-out procedure, what would happen if a thief were to swallow the items and have them pass through their entire system? Would the stomach fluids and intestines break down the items and cause them to be lost in the flush (no pun intended)? One jewelry thief found out how that feels.

The strangest way to complete a jewelry theft occurred in Auckland

A bizarre jewelry theft in Auckland, New Zealand, involved a 32-year-old man who allegedly tried to steal a $19,000 Fabergé pendant by swallowing it. The piece wasn’t just any jewelry; it was a limited-edition James Bond “Octopussy” themed egg locket, one of only 50 ever made, crafted from 18-karat gold with green enamel and studded with 183 diamonds and two sapphires. Police arrested him inside Partridge Jewelers in Auckland before he could leave, but the evidence was literally inside him.

The Fabergé pendant that was stolen couldn’t be recovered immediately

What makes the story interesting is what happened next. Officers had to keep the suspect under 24-hour watch for six days, waiting for nature to take its course. The pendant eventually passed naturally without medical intervention and was recovered intact. The incident combines elements of true crime, pop culture (the James Bond connection), and just plain weird news that makes people say, “He did what?” It’s the kind of story that shows how a split-second bad decision can turn into a week-long ordeal.

This jewelry theft in Auckland ended with a complete recovery

The swallowed jewelry heist is one of the most unusual crime stories of the year. This didn’t only make the New Zealand news as a theft that went wrong but eventually was shared around the globe. Once the item passed through the man’s system and was recovered, it was found to be completely intact. The price tag was still attached, and clearly read the price of the item, which is pretty amazing when you think about an item like this going through a person’s gastrointestinal tract.

Incredible detail in the piece

The item stolen as part of this jewelry theft is an egg that pays homage to the antagonist in the Octopussy film. It is a green enameled egg made from gold and encrusted with 183 diamonds and two sapphires. The egg opens to present an 18-karat gold octopus inside, which is adorned with white diamond suckers and black diamond eyes. Overall, it’s a pretty cool item, and very rare, being only one of fifty in the world. Still, an egg that measures 3.3 inches tall could be extremely painful to pass through a person’s system.

Police monitored the man involved in the jewelry theft in Auckland

Once the man was arrested inside the jewelry store, he had to be monitored for six days. The delicate nature of the theft required constant care and monitoring. The man swallowed the egg pendant, but also the chain it is attached to, which could have caused serious medical problems for him. Thankfully, there weren’t any additional medical concerns once the egg and its chain were passed.

Where will the egg pendant go?

The egg comes from the Fabergé jeweler, which is world-renowned for making amazing eggs of gems and precious metals. The jewelry store where it was stolen from said the locket will be returned to Fabergé in Russia.
The man was charged with theft and appeared in court. This strange theft isn’t the only item he stole recently. He’s being charged with stealing an iPad from the same jewelry store on November 12, and cat litter and flea control products that were stolen from a private address.

People will do anything to get away with crimes

This strange jewelry theft in Auckland might make you wonder what has to go through a person’s head to swallow an item that will pass through their entire system. Even if the man hadn’t been arrested in the jewelry store, he would have had to wait six days for it to pass through. The changes of intestinal damage could have been significant, and he’s pretty lucky there wasn’t any damage done to his body during this process.

Strange thefts happen all the time, but this one is certainly interesting, especially when you consider the actions of the criminal and the item being stolen.