A man allegedly swallowed a £35,000 engagement ring in an attempt to steal it from a family-run jewellery shop in Hatton Garden, central London. Staff at Elegance Jewellers noticed one of three rings they were showing a customer had disappeared and reviewed CCTV footage to uncover the bizarre theft method.
How the theft unfolded
Junaid Hassan, 28, who runs the family business, said the incident took place in June 2025. His father, Syed Hussan, 58, served the customer, who walked in at closing time and spent two hours examining various rings. The footage shows the man picking up the princess-cut diamond ring and swiftly putting it in his mouth before allegedly swallowing it and attempting to leave.
When staff confronted the shopper, they claim he put his fingers down his throat and regurgitated the ring to return it. The ring, featuring a large princess-cut diamond and several smaller diamonds on a platinum band, was valued at around £35,000.
Staff reaction and security measures
Junaid described the incident as 'really crazy' and said he still cannot believe it happened. 'You never know who you are sitting in front of. We just happened to catch him. You don't know where else he has been that people just haven't noticed. It was absolutely insane,' he said. Syed added that he asked the man politely to return the ring, but he started screaming and shouting. Security escorted the man out of the shop, and staff are unsure what happened to him next.
Junaid noted that the family has been in Hatton Garden for three generations and had never seen anyone swallow a ring before. He expressed concern about the risk of injury, saying, 'I can't even take paracetamol without water, I don't know how he did it. It could have scratched his insides.'
Social media awareness
Junaid decided to post the CCTV footage on social media in July 2026 to raise awareness among other jewellery shops. The video has since gained millions of views, though some users accused the family of staging the incident. 'People on social media think we staged it. I didn't expect it to do that well. We just posted it to raise awareness that this happens in jewellery shops,' he said.
