A Fabergé egg valued at £14,250 has been “naturally recovered” from a man accused of swallowing it six days ago.
The 32-year-old was arrested at Partridge Jewellers in Auckland, New Zealand, on November 28 after allegedly swallowing the jewel, known as the Octopussy egg, one of only 50 in existence worldwide. The egg is made of gold and adorned with 183 diamonds and two sapphires. When opened, it reveals an 18-carat gold octopus with diamond-studded suckers and eyes, which inspired the James Bond film of the same name.
New images show the egg being held by a gloved hand in some tissue after it was pooped out whole by the thief and passed to police
Police said: “Medical intervention was not required.”
Officers were stationed by the man round-the-clock to make sure they recovered the egg before it could be destroyed or swallowed again.
Police stated earlier this week: “Since this man is in our custody, we have a duty of care to continue monitoring him given the circumstances of the incident.”
Despite spending nearly a week inside the man’s body, the value of the stolen egg has remarkably not decreased.
Partridge Jewellers confirmed that the locket will be returned to Fabergé, according to Radio NZ.
The man has been charged with theft and, according to the BBC, is also accused of stealing an iPad from the same store and taking cat litter and flea control products from a private residence the following day.
Fabergé, the creator of the locket, is a world-renowned jeweller founded in Russia over two centuries ago.
