Wellington: New Zealand Police said they had recovered a James Bond-inspired Faberge pendant after six days of closely watching the man accused of swallowing the jewellery in an Auckland store.
They said the pendant was recovered on Thursday night after it exited the suspect’s gastrointestinal tract naturally without medical intervention.
The egg, one of only 50 made, is crafted from gold, painted with green enamel and encrusted with 183 diamonds and two sapphires. It was inspired by the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy.Credit: Image courtesy of Faberge
The limited-edition, Faberge egg pendant was inspired by the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy, in which a jewel-smuggling operation involves a fake Faberge egg.
A less glamorous photo supplied by New Zealand’s police on Friday showed a gloved hand holding the recovered pendant and its long, gold chain with an intact price tag showing the jewellery’s $NZ33,000 ($28,765) value.
The man was arrested inside Partridge Jewellers in Auckland on November 28, shortly after the alleged theft.
He made a court appearance on November 29, when he didn’t enter a plea to a charge of theft. Since then, he has been in police custody, and officers have been stationed around the clock with the man to wait for the evidence to re-emerge.
Central to the film’s plot is a jewel-smuggling operation that involves a fake Faberge egg.
The 32-year-old man has not been publicly named. He is due to appear in Auckland District Court on Monday and will remain in police custody until then.
“Given this man is in police custody, we have a duty of care to continue monitoring him given the circumstances of what has occurred,” Inspector Grae Anderson said in a statement on Wednesday.
