Orlando police have retrieved two pairs of Tiffany & Co. diamond earrings valued at $769,500 (£597,000) after an alleged thief swallowed them while being taken into custody. The suspect, 32-year-old Jaythan Gilder, ingested the stolen jewellery on 26 February, authorities said.

Gilder was under police surveillance at an Orlando hospital for over two weeks until the earrings naturally passed through his system. He now faces multiple charges, including robbery with a mask and grand theft in the first degree. Tiffany & Co. has since cleaned and verified the recovered earrings.

According to investigators, Gilder posed as an NBA player’s assistant to gain access to a VIP room at an Orlando Tiffany & Co. store. He allegedly distracted employees before fleeing with the earrings, though he dropped a diamond ring worth $587,000 in the process.

When officers apprehended him later that day, they reportedly saw him swallowing the stolen jewellery. While in custody, Gilder allegedly remarked, “I should have thrown them out the window,” and later asked jail staff, “Am I going to be charged with what’s in my stomach?” An x-ray later confirmed the presence of foreign objects in his abdomen.

On 12 March, police successfully retrieved the final earring, confirming its authenticity with serial numbers. Detective Aaron Goss described the case as an endurance test, saying it became “a marathon, not a sprint.”

Gilder remains in custody at Orange County Jail. Authorities revealed his prior involvement in a 2022 Tiffany & Co. robbery in Texas and noted that he has 48 outstanding warrants in Colorado.