Police were forced to retrieve a stolen luxury item in the most disgusting way possible, after it was smuggled out of a jewelry store in an unconventional heist.
Authorities in Auckland said officers recovered a Fabergé pendant inspired by the James Bond film “Octopussy” after a 32-year-old suspect allegedly swallowed the item during a theft inside a jewelry store.
The pendant, valued at roughly $19,000 in U.S. currency, was retrieved in early December after exiting the suspect’s gastrointestinal tract without medical intervention, according to New Zealand Police, as reported by The Associated Press.
The alleged theft occurred Nov. 28 at Partridge Jewelers, where police said the man concealed the limited edition item by ingesting it.
Officers arrested the suspect at the store and brought him into custody, where he remained under observation for nearly a week while authorities waited for the pendant to make its exit.
New Zealand Police said the recovered item included not only the pendant itself, but also its gold chain and original price tag, all intact.
The suspect appeared in court the day after his arrest but did not enter a plea to the theft charge.
Inspector Grae Anderson told the AP that police arranged a medical assessment after the alleged swallowing and continued to monitor the suspect closely.
“Given this man is in police custody, we have a duty of care to continue monitoring him, given the circumstances of what has occurred,” Anderson said.
Partridge Jewelers described the pendant as a highly sought-after collector’s piece tied to the James Bond franchise.
The object draws inspiration from the 1983 film “Octopussy,” which centers on a jewel-smuggling plot involving a fake Fabergé egg.
Charging documents cited by the BBC indicate the suspect has previously been accused of theft.
Court records allege he took an iPad from the same jewelry store earlier in November and stole cat litter and flea control products from a private residence the following day.
While authorities in New Zealand dealt with an unusually patient recovery process, police in Texas were confronting a spree of high-dollar thefts allegedly carried out by a repeat offender shortly after his release from jail.
In San Antonio, police arrested Michael Allen Loving, 38, in connection with a series of smash-and-grab robberies that netted more than $200,000 in jewelry, according to KSAT-TV.
Investigators said Loving had been arrested dozens of times before and was out on release when the latest crimes occurred.
“I would say that it’s brazen that he just walks in, in the middle of the day,” Camelia Juarez, a public information officer with the San Antonio Police Department, told KSAT.
“He will just smash the glass, break it and take off with [the jewelry].”
Arrest affidavits said Loving stole more than $37,000 in gold chains from a JCPenney store and took an additional $45,000-plus in jewelry from an EZ Pawn shop in recent months.
In both cases, police said he shattered display cases, seized the merchandise, and fled.
Authorities also accused Loving of threatening EZ Pawn employees with a firearm during the robbery.
“After he threatened those two employees at the EZ Pawn, he went to dozens of other jewelry stores,” Juarez said.
Police said the spree continued, culminating in the theft of more than $150,000 in jewelry from another business.
Investigators traced the events back to an earlier arrest at an H-E-B grocery store, where Loving was accused of committing a smash-and-grab and striking someone with his car while escaping.
Officers later located the abandoned vehicle and found Loving nearby without clothing, according to the station.
Despite the allegations, Loving was released from the Bexar County jail with an ankle monitor.
Police said he cut off the device days later and resumed targeting jewelry stores across the region.
In California, another jewelry store robbery escalated into gunfire as a small business owner confronted masked suspects during a fast-moving heist captured on surveillance video.
The incident unfolded around 7 p.m. at Olivia’s Fine Jewelry in Madera, KFSN-TV reported.
Video footage shows four individuals in dark clothing rushing inside and smashing display cases while a fifth person stood near the entrance acting as a lookout.
The plan unraveled when the store owner entered the camera frame holding a firearm and began shooting.
The lookout is seen holding the door as the others fled into the parking lot. Additional footage shows the owner continuing to fire as the suspects ran.
“It’s shocking to the conscience. It’s scary to the family because it is a mom-and-pop store with family being your own employees, it’s your own business and your livelihood,” Madera Police Sgt. Blake Short told KFSN.
Police said the robbers escaped with an estimated $170,000 in jewelry. No injuries from gunfire were reported.
“I believe the store owner did what he felt was necessary at the time. We don’t always recommend that in this field. Fortunately, no one was harmed in this situation,” Short said.
Investigators later recovered the suspects’ dark gray Audi, which had been abandoned just outside Madera city limits. Police described the robbery as carefully planned.
A “preliminary investigation shows that they were kind of in the area for a little while … we would say in our field ‘casing the business,’” Short said.
“This was definitely meticulous. It was thought out. It did not appear to be a first time for these individuals.”
A similar confrontation with fatal consequences occurred weeks earlier in Baltimore, where a suspected burglar was shot after breaking into a jewelry store late at night.
According to WJZ-TV, a man smashed the glass front door of a jewelry shop using a brick.
The store owner, who reportedly lived above the business, was inside watching a movie at the time.
A friend of the owner told WJZ that the owner fired a warning shot and ordered the intruder to freeze.
The suspect initially ducked, then stood back up, at which point the owner fired again.
Baltimore police described the case as a commercial burglary that resulted in the fatal shooting of a 39-year-old man.
Surveillance footage captured the encounter, showing a man entering the store and collapsing seconds later on the sidewalk.
While the footage was not released publicly, it was provided to investigators.
WJZ reported that bullet holes remained visible in two windows following the shooting and that the shattered front door had since been covered.
Authorities continue to review the circumstances surrounding the incident.
