Patient police say they have recovered Fabergé pendant from man accused of swallowing it | New Zealand

Police say they found a Fabergé egg necklace from a man he allegedly swallowed in a jewelery story.

New Zealand police spent six days monitoring the suspect’s every bowel movement, and the James Bond Octopussy necklace worth NZ$33,000 ($19,000) was removed from his gastrointestinal tract naturally on Thursday night without requiring medical intervention, a spokesman said.

The 32-year-old man, whose name was not disclosed by police, was detained for allegedly swallowing the fancy necklace at Partridge Jewelers in Auckland on November 28. He was arrested at the store minutes after the alleged theft.

A photo provided by police on Friday showed a gloved hand holding the salvaged necklace, which was attached to a long gold chain that still had a price tag intact. A spokesman said the necklace and the man would remain in police custody.

The piece was a limited edition Fabergé egg necklace inspired by the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy. Central to the film’s plot is a jewelery smuggling operation involving a fake Fabergé egg.

The suspect is expected to appear in Auckland district court on December 8. He pleaded no contest to the theft charge at his first hearing on November 29.

Since then, officers have been on duty around the clock with the man to wait for evidence to emerge.

Inspector Grae Anderson said in a statement on Wednesday: “Given that this man is in police custody we have a duty to exercise caution in continuing to monitor him given the circumstances that have occurred.”

The store’s website says the egg, one of only 50 produced, is made of gold, painted with green enamel and encrusted with 183 diamonds and two sapphires. The pendant is 8.4 cm (3.3 inches) long and is mounted on a stand.

“Once the egg is opened, it reveals an 18-karat yellow gold octopus adorned with white diamond suckers and black diamond eyes,” a product description said. “The octopus twist pays homage to the eponymous antagonist at the center of the movie Octopussy.”