New Zealand police said Friday they recovered a James Bond-inspired Fabergé pendant after six days of closely watching the man accused of swallowing the jewelry in an Auckland store.
They said the pendant was recovered Thursday night after it came out naturally from the suspect’s gastrointestinal tract without medical intervention.
The limited-edition Fabergé egg pendant was inspired by the 1983 James Bond film “Octopussy,” in which a jewelry smuggling operation involves a fake Fabergé egg.
A less glamorous photograph provided by New Zealand police on Friday showed a gloved hand holding the recovered pendant and its long gold chain with an intact price tag showing the jewelry’s value of 33,000 New Zealand dollars ($19,000).
The man was arrested inside Partridge Jewelers in Auckland on November 28, shortly after the alleged robbery.
He appeared in court on Nov. 29, when he pleaded no contest to a robbery charge. He has since been in police custody and officers had been stationed 24 hours a day with the man waiting for evidence to reappear.
The 32-year-old man has not been publicly identified. He is due to appear in Auckland District Court on Monday and will remain in police custody until then.
“As this man is in police custody, we have a duty to continue to monitor him given the circumstances of what occurred,” Inspector Grae Anderson said in a statement on Wednesday.
The store’s website says the egg, one of 50 made, was crafted in gold, painted with green enamel and encrusted with 183 diamonds and two sapphires. The pendant is 8.4 centimeters (3.3 in) high and is mounted on a stand.
“The egg opens to reveal an 18-karat yellow gold octopus nestled inside, adorned with white diamond suction cups and black diamond eyes,” the item description read. “Octopus Surprise Pays Homage to the eponymous antagonist at the center of the film ‘Octopussy'”.
(AP)
READ ALSO TOP STORIES OF Newslodge