Someone in London May Be £2M Richer And Has No Idea After Thief Traded Fabergé Egg And Watch for Drugs

Someone in London could unknowingly be in possession of an extremely rare Fabergé egg and a matching watch worth up to £2.2 million ($3 million) after the items were stolen and quickly traded for drugs. The Metropolitan Police confirmed the items have not been recovered after the man who stole them traded for drugs shortly after snatching it from a Soho pub.

Enzo Conticello, 29, of no fixed address, was sentenced to two years and three months at Southwark Crown Court on 9 April after pleading guilty to theft and three counts of fraud by false representation, The National reported. Also known as Hakin Boudjenoune, the accused will serve roughly half of his 27-month sentence in custody before being released on licence.

How The Theft Happened

The theft took place at around 9:50 p.m. on 7 November 2024, outside the Dog and Duck pub on Bateman Street in Soho.

Rosie Dawson, Director of Premium Brands at the Craft Irish Whiskey Company, had put her £1,600 ($2,120) Givenchy handbag on the ground while standing in the smoking area. Inside were a jewelled Fabergé Celtic Egg, a one-of-a-kind Fabergé Altruist watch, a laptop and three bank cards. Dawson had carried the Fabergé pieces to a company event earlier that evening.

CCTV footage released by police showed Conticello initially attempting to take another customer's bag inside the pub before heading outside and stealing Dawson's handbag from beneath her chair, LBC reported.

After the theft, Conticello used the stolen bank cards to buy cigarettes and a drink at a nearby Co-Op and Nisa Local on Berwick Street, which triggered a fraud alert on Dawson's phone at 10:12 p.m. Two more card attempts were made later that night at 11:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m., but the accounts had been frozen by then.

Missing Fabergé Egg Is One of Seven Ever Made

The stolen pieces belong to the Emerald Isle Collection, a collaboration between the Craft Irish Whiskey Company and Fabergé unveiled in 2021.

Only seven sets exist worldwide. Each includes a Fabergé egg, a luxury timepiece and rare whiskey.

Three sets have been sold for between $2 million (£1.5 million) and $3 million (£2.3 million), with one reportedly sold for $2.8 million (£2.1 million) in early 2024, setting a world record for the most expensive whiskey ever sold, as per Fabergé's own claim.

Conticello Evaded Police for Over a Year After Fabergé Theft

Despite early card activity linking Conticello to the theft, he was not arrested until November 2025, when the Police Service of Northern Ireland picked him up in Belfast on unrelated charges. Metropolitan Police officers later brought him to London in January 2026, where he was charged and subsequently pleaded guilty on 24 February.

His barrister, Katie Porter-Windley, argued in the court that Conticello was a former chef who lost his job during the Covid-19 pandemic and fell into homelessness and cocaine addiction. She said he had 'absolutely no idea' what was inside the bag and traded it to buy drugs.

The prosecution said it would not seek confiscation or compensation, calling Conticello 'a man of no means.'

Detective Constable Arben Morina, who is leading the case, said the Fabergé egg and watch remain missing.

Police described the egg as green and gold, roughly four inches high, and the watch as rose gold with a brown leather strap. Detectives have urged anyone who may have been offered items matching that description to contact the Metropolitan Police.