A jewellery store in London’s Hatton Garden has released CCTV footage showing the moment a man allegedly swallowed a £35,000 engagement ring in an apparent attempt to steal it.
Staff at Elegance Jewellers said the incident occurred in June 2025 after a customer spent about two hours viewing engagement rings before one of the pieces suddenly went missing.
According to the store’s management, the customer had been shown three rings, including a princess-cut diamond engagement ring valued at approximately £35,000. Junaid Hassan, 28, who helps run the family business, said staff initially could not understand how the ring had disappeared and reviewed CCTV footage to determine what had happened.
The footage allegedly shows the man picking up the ring, placing it into his mouth and swallowing it before attempting to leave the shop. When confronted by staff, the customer allegedly denied taking the ring and asked employees to search his pockets. The jewellers said repeated reviews of the CCTV footage revealed the moment the ring was allegedly swallowed.
According to the store, the man was then asked to return the jewellery, after which he allegedly forced himself to vomit and produced the ring before handing it back. Security personnel subsequently escorted him out of the premises. Junaid Hassan described the incident as unlike anything the family had experienced in more than three decades of operating the business.
He said they had never encountered anyone attempting to steal jewellery by swallowing it. His father, Syed Hussan, who served the customer that day, said the man arrived shortly before closing time and claimed he would return the following day to make a purchase before attempting to leave. The engagement ring featured a large princess-cut diamond set on a platinum band with several smaller diamonds.
The jewellers believe the suspect may have been experienced, claiming he even contacted someone saved in his phone as “999” during the confrontation in an apparent effort to convince staff to let him leave. The family later shared the CCTV footage on social media to raise awareness among other jewellers about similar theft attempts.
According to the store, the video has since attracted millions of views online, although some viewers questioned whether the incident was genuine. The jewellers insist the footage is authentic and say they released it to highlight the unusual methods some suspected thieves may use.
Watch the video below………………………………………..