Jaythan Gilder, 32, is accused of posing as a representative of an Orlando Magic player before he swiped two pairs of earrings worth $769,500 from a Tiffany & Co. in Orlando, police said.

A suspected thief gulped down two pairs of diamond earrings during his arrest on the side of a Florida Panhandle highway last week, detectives say, leaving them with the unenviable task of waiting to “collect” the Tiffany & Co.

The man allegedly swallowed two pairs of earrings worth $769,500 (£597,000) hoping to avoid being charged with theft.