A man stole a handbag outside a London pub. Inside was a Faberge egg and watch.

A antheral who stole a handbag containing a Faberge egg and ticker worthy astatine slightest $2.8 cardinal (2 cardinal pounds) from a London pub was jailed connected Thursday for much than 2 years.

Enzo Conticello, 29, of nary fixed address, pleaded blameworthy to 1 number of theft and 3 counts of fraud.

He was sentenced astatine Southwark Crown Court to a full of 27 months successful prison.

Prosecutor Julian Winship said the victim's Givenchy handbag, worthy 1,600 pounds, was stolen from the smoking country extracurricular the Dog and Duck pub successful Soho, cardinal London, successful November 2024.

The container contained a greenish and gold, emerald-encrusted Faberge ovum and ticker owned by the Craft Irish Whiskey Company wherever the unfortunate worked, arsenic good arsenic a laptop, wallet, AirPods and her slope cards.

A antheral who stole a handbag containing a Faberge ovum and ticker worthy astatine slightest $2.8 cardinal from a London pub was jailed connected Thursday for 27 months. Metropolitan Police

"This is an antithetic case," acknowledged justice Kate Livesey, describing the victim's daze and panic erstwhile she discovered her handbag had gone.

The Faberge ovum and watch, which had been portion of a show astatine a enactment lawsuit that evening, person not been recovered, the tribunal heard.

Conticello, who is besides known arsenic Hakin Boudjenoune, utilized the stolen slope cards to effort purchases astatine adjacent supermarkets soon aft the theft.

The stolen items were portion of a constricted bid of 7 bespoke "Emerald Isle" sets produced by the Craft Irish Whiskey Company, each comprising a Faberge egg, a Faberge watch, a handcrafted whiskey vessel and a cigar humidor, the tribunal heard

Three of the sets had been sold to backstage clients for betwixt $2 cardinal and $3 million.

Livesey said Conticello, who had worked arsenic a cook earlier losing his job, had acted "opportunistically" and had "no cognition of the contents of the bag."

He aboriginal exchanged the stolen items for drugs, without realizing however invaluable they were.

His lawyer, Katie Porter-Windley, said Conticello had been stateless and suffered from cocaine addiction.

He volition service fractional the condemnation successful jailhouse and past beryllium released nether license.

In:

• United Kingdom
• London