- You know, if you swallow what you stole, there’s no way to try to claim you’re innocent.
The Fabergé eggs are the stuff of legend. Originally made as a gift for the Russian Czar, the priceless Easter eggs have been the subjects of countless heist novels and movies.
Recently, an enterprising thief tried stealing a Fabergé egg in real life — using a decidedly unorthodox method.
A New Zealand jewelry store called the police after catching a thief red-handed. The cops arrived and found the thief still in the store.
However, the precious egg was nowhere to be found. That was because the thief hadn’t stuffed it in his pockets.
Instead, he had swallowed it.
At least that’s what the jewelry store staff claims. The police have taken the man into custody and are waiting for him to produce the evidence of his crime, so to speak.
You have to wonder why they didn’t just X-ray the guy. That would’ve shown immediately whether he was guilty or not, and nobody would have had to wait for nature to take its course.
Hungry, Hungry Hoodlum
The odd crime took place on November 28 in Auckland. Soon after 3 p.m., an unnamed 32-year-old man entered the Partridge Jewelers store.
What exactly happened in the store has not been fully disclosed. However, the man somehow got his hands on a locket fashioned out of an authentic Fabergé egg.
Whether he asked to see the locket or it was out in the open (which sounds risky at best), we don’t know. What we do know is that the locket quickly vanished from sight.
Around 3:30 p.m., Partridge Jewelers’ staff called the police. The cops responded quickly and were on the location within minutes.
As they arrived, they found the thief still on the premises. He was apprehended, and the cops searched his person but found no pilfered jewels.
The staff at the store explained why. According to them, the man had swallowed the locket.
Perhaps he had hoped that no one would notice, and he could walk out scot-free. He probably then planned to… Extract the Fabergé egg later.
However, somebody noticed. The man is now in police custody under constant monitoring.
“Given this man is in police custody, we have a duty of care to continue monitoring him given the circumstances of what has occurred,” said Inspector Grae Anderson, Auckland Central Area Commander at New Zealand Police, in a CNN interview.
According to Anderson, a doctor gave the man a medical assessment. However, they made no mention of using X-rays or any other tools to confirm whether he had really swallowed the egg.
We suppose they found out within 24 hours.
The Egg-topus
The egg the man is claimed to have swallowed is not one of the original 50 Imperial Fabergé eggs delivered to the Czars. Those are much too valuable for a regular or even an ultra-fancy jewelry store to have on its shelves.
Not to mention the things are the size of a real egg, if not bigger. It would’ve been quite a feat to swallow one, unless the thief was half-snake or something.
The stolen piece was still an authentic Fabergé egg, though. It forms part of a limited-edition egg locket made to commemorate the James Bond, 007, movie Octopussy.
In the movie, a Fabergé egg is a significant plot device. This locket is made to resemble the one in the movie.
The egg locket is about three inches tall. It’s fashioned out of 18-karat gold, painted with green enamel paint.
Within the eggshell are inlaid 60 white diamonds, two black diamonds, and 15 sapphires. As is tradition with Fabergé eggs, inside the locket is a surprise — a golden octopus figure to tie in with the movie.
To top it all off, the locket hangs on a gold chain. Altogether, it’s worth $16,500.
So, quite a treasure, even if it’s not a full-sized Fabergé egg.
Others Tried It Too
Strangely enough, this isn’t the only thief to stuff jewelry down his throat this year. In March, a crook in Florida tried the same trick.
Posing as a purchase agent for an NBA player, the man stole two pairs of earrings worth $750,000. He was later arrested at a traffic stop, and the cops discovered he had swallowed the jewelry to avoid detection.
You can read the rest of that story here.