A MAN has been jailed over the theft of a rare Irish-themed Fabergé egg and watch, part of a set reportedly worth more than £2m.
Enzo Conticello, 29, also known as Hakim Boudjenoune, was caught after being arrested in Belfast for a separate theft offence, during which he produced fake Irish identification.
He has now been sentenced to two years and three months over the 2024 theft of the Fabergé egg and watch, which have never been recovered.
“Conticello thought nothing of helping himself to someone else’s possessions — and he now faces a prison sentence as a result of his greed,” said Detective Constable Arben Morina of the Met Police.
Theft
Police launched an investigation after a woman reported that her handbag had been stolen as she spoke to friends outside a pub in Bateman Street, Soho, London at around 9.50pm on November 7, 2024.
The handbag contained a rare Fabergé egg and watch which had been on display at an event earlier in the evening, as well as the victim’s computer, purse and bank cards.
According to the BBC, the woman is an employee of the Craft Irish Whiskey Company.
It is believed the egg and watch are part of a seven-piece custom-made set known as the Emerald Isle collection, which celebrates the ‘Seven Wonders of Ireland’.
Only seven sets have been created, each featuring two bottles of ultra-rare Emerald Isle Irish whiskey, a Fabergé Celtic Egg and a bespoke Fabergé Altruist watch, each with a unique dial inspired by the Irish landscape.
The sets also contain a humidor with two ultra-rare cigars, a gold-plated cigar cutter, gold-plated water pipette, pure obsidian whiskey stones, a hip flask and a carafe of Irish spring water.
According to Fabergé, one of the sets sold for $2.8m (£2.1m) in 2024, reportedly making it the most expensive whiskey ever sold.
The egg and watch have never been recovered (Images: Met Police)CCTV showed Conticello stealing the bag and attempting to steal another rucksack in the venue a few minutes earlier.
Footage also showed him using the stolen bank cards in convenience stores in the hours after the theft.
He was identified by officers and attempts were made to arrest him at his last known address but officers were unable to locate him.
However, the Met were alerted by the PSNI after he was arrested in Belfast on November 9, 2025 for unrelated theft offences.
During his arrest in Belfast, he gave police a different name and presented false Irish identity documentation in the same name.
Detectives from the Met travelled to Belfast to arrest Conticello as he was released from Maghaberry Prison on Wednesday, January 26 this year.
He was flown to London and appeared before Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, January 27.
Conticello pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday, February 24 to theft and fraud by false representation and was sentenced at the same court on Thursday.
A second man was identified from CCTV footage and a 32-year-old man was arrested on November 24, 2024 on suspicion of theft of the bag and fraudulent use of the stolen cards.
He accepted a caution for the fraud offences while no further action was taken against him for the theft offence.
A 25-year-old man was arrested on November 20, 2024 on suspicion of handling stolen goods after the company that commissioned the egg and watch were approached with questions about the items’ value.
Following a review of the evidence, a decision was made to take no further action in his case.
Egg hunt
“This theft has had a significant impact on the victim, who was on her way home from a work event when she was targeted,” said DC Morina.
“The defendant never explained to the police what he did with the expensive jewellery.
“Our investigation to find the egg and the watch is ongoing and we’d urge anyone with information to contact us.”
The egg is around 10cm high and is green and gold in colour, while the watch is rose gold with a brown leather strap.
Anyone with information about the Fabergé egg and watch is asked to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
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