Wellington, New Zealand
AP
—
New Zealand police said on Friday they had recovered a James Bond-inspired Fabergé pendant after six days of close surveillance of a man who was arrested on suspicion of swallowing jewelry at an Auckland store.
They said the pendant was recovered Thursday night after it came out of the suspect’s gastrointestinal tract naturally without medical intervention.
The limited edition Fabergé egg pendant is inspired by the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy, which depicts a jewelry smuggling operation using fake Faberge eggs.
A less glamorous photo provided by New Zealand police on Friday showed a gloved hand clutching a long gold chain with an intact price tag indicating the recovered pendant and the jewelry’s value of 33,000 New Zealand dollars (about $19,000).
The man was arrested at Partridge Jewelers in Oakland on November 28, shortly after the alleged theft.
He appeared in court on November 29, but did not enter a plea to the theft charge. The man has been in police custody ever since, with officers stationed with him around the clock, waiting for evidence to come to light again.
The 32-year-old man’s name has not been released. He is scheduled to appear in Auckland District Court on Monday and will remain in police custody until then.
“Given that this man is in police custody, we have a duty of care to continue to monitor him given the circumstances that have occurred,” Inspector Gray Anderson said in a statement on Wednesday.
The egg, one of just 50 made, is made of gold, painted with green enamel and encrusted with 183 diamonds and two sapphires, according to the store’s website. The pendant is 8.4 centimeters (3.3 inches) tall and is mounted on a stand.
“When you open the egg, you’ll find an 18K yellow gold octopus decorated with white diamond suction cups and black diamond eyes,” the product description says. “Octopus Surprise pays homage to the eponymous antagonist at the center of the movie Octopussy.”
