Man Jailed for Unwittingly Stealing Rare Fabergé Egg in London Pub Theft

A former chef with no fixed address grabbed a handbag from outside a Soho pub to fund a cocaine purchase. He had no idea it contained one of the rarest objects in the world.

Enzo Conticello, 29, was sentenced to two years and three months at Southwark Crown Court on 9 April 2026 after pleading guilty to theft and three counts of fraud by false representation. Under UK sentencing rules, he will serve roughly half that term before release on licence.

The theft occurred at approximately 21:50 on 7 November 2024, at the Dog and Duck pub on Bateman Street in Soho. Rosie Dawson, Director of Premium Brands at the Craft Irish Whiskey Company, had placed her £1,600 Givenchy handbag on the ground between her legs while standing in the pub's outdoor smoking area, having carried two of the world's most valuable objects to a work event earlier that evening. CCTV captured Conticello first attempting to steal another customer's rucksack inside the venue before moving outside and taking Dawson's bag.

Inside were a green and gold Fabergé emerald-encrusted egg, approximately four inches high, and a matching watch with a rose gold case and brown leather strap. The items belong to the Emerald Isle Collection, produced through a collaboration between the Craft Irish Whiskey Company and the Fabergé brand, with only seven complete sets ever made. Three had already sold to private clients for between $2 million and $3 million: the first fetched $2 million in March 2021, setting a world record for a whiskey collectors' set; American collector Mike Daley paid $2.8 million for another in early 2024; a third subsequently sold for $3 million. The court heard the stolen egg and watch set carries a minimum estimated value of £2.1 million.

Conticello, who lost his job as a chef during the Covid-19 pandemic before becoming homeless and addicted to cocaine, had "absolutely no idea" of the contents or value of the bag, his defence barrister Katie Porter-Windley told the court. He simply "gave the bag to someone to purchase drugs." Prosecutor Julian Winship confirmed the court accepted Conticello had "no knowledge of the contents of the bag."

Within minutes of the theft, Conticello used Dawson's stolen bank cards at a nearby Co-Op and Nisa Local, again captured on CCTV. He evaded police for over a year until the Police Service of Northern Ireland arrested him in Belfast in November 2025 for an unrelated offence. Metropolitan Police detectives travelled to Belfast and brought him back to London in January 2026. He pleaded guilty on 24 February 2026.

Neither the Fabergé egg nor the watch has been recovered. The insurance settlement illustrates the valuation gap at play: despite the items' minimum estimated value of £2.1 million, insurers paid the Craft Irish Whiskey Company just £106,700. Prosecutor Winship told the court it appeared "unlikely that the defendant is a person of means," making confiscation or compensation orders unworkable.

Sentencing judge Recorder Kate Livesey KC described the egg as "quite extraordinary looking" and told Conticello she expected "it was probably quite a surprise to you when you discovered that egg." The theft, she said, had caused "inconvenience and stress" to Dawson and her company. An earlier hearing judge, Judge Martin Griffiths, captured the valuation difficulty plainly: "Unfortunately, you can't ask Mr Fabergé, can you?"

Detective Constable Arben Morina of the Metropolitan Police said: "Conticello thought nothing of helping himself to someone else's possessions, and he now faces a prison sentence as a result of his greed."

The 27-month term, with roughly 13 months to be served in custody, sits against a Fabergé market at record heights: a Fabergé Winter Egg sold for $30.2 million at Christie's London in December 2025. The four remaining Emerald Isle sets are effectively irreplaceable. The Metropolitan Police are asking anyone offered a green and gold egg approximately four inches high, or a rose gold watch with a brown leather strap, to come forward with information.