Police recover Fabergé egg ‘naturally’ after thief swallowed it

The man had swallowed the diamond-encrusted egg in a New Zealand jewellery store.

Police have recovered a valuable piece of jewellery from a suspect after a six-day wait.

An unnamed man had walked into a jewellery store in Auckland, New Zealand, on 28 November and swallowed a Fabergé egg worth US$19,100 (£14,300).

Police arrived at Partridge Jewelers shortly after the incident and arrested the 32-year-old man.

Having closely monitored the suspect for the best part of a week, New Zealand Police confirmed they had recovered the pricey locket by “natural” means, with no medical intervention necessary.

They added that the James Bond-inspired egg was retrieved with the price tag still attached.

In case you were wondering how uncomfortable the whole process might have been for the thief, we can reveal that the egg is more than three inches tall, although we are unclear on the width.

Laying a gold and diamond-encrusted egg

According to the Fabergé site, the 007 Special Edition Octopussy Egg Surprise Locket is made from 18-karat gold and contains 60 brilliant-cut white diamonds.

It explains that the “exterior of the egg closely follows the design of the Fabergé egg featured in the [James Bond] film Octopussy”.

The egg can be opened to reveal a golden octopus with two black diamonds for eyes.

Suspect had already stolen from the store

The man, who has not been publicly named, already made one court appearance last week and is due to appear again today (8 December).

The BBC has reported that, in addition to the pricey locket, the man had also stolen an iPad from the jewellery store earlier in November.

He is also accused of stealing “cat litter and flea control products worth NZ$100 from a private address a day after”, it added.