Man Charged for Swallowing NZ$33,000 Faberge Pendant in Auckland

A 32-year-old man faces theft charges in New Zealand after allegedly swallowing a limited-edition Fabergé egg pendant valued at around 33,000 New Zealand dollars during an incident at a jewelry store in central Auckland on November 28.

Police responded to Partridge Jewellers around 3:30 p.m. that Friday following reports that the man had removed the pendant from a display and ingested it. Officers arrested him minutes later inside the store, where he underwent an immediate medical assessment. The pendant, a Fabergé x 007 Limited Edition Octopussy Egg Objet, has not been recovered, and authorities are monitoring the suspect's health while in custody, awaiting natural processes to potentially reveal evidence of the item.

Inspector Grae Anderson, Auckland's central area commander, described the response in a statement. "The Auckland city beat team responded minutes later, arresting the man inside the store," he said. Regarding the ongoing monitoring, Anderson added, "Given this man is in police custody, we have a duty of care to continue monitoring him given the circumstances of what has occurred." At this stage, police have not released images of the pendant due to its unrecovered...