Responsibility for jewelry theft

I recently read a story about a man who swallowed a locket with a 'Fabergé egg' worth over 19 thousand dollars right in a jewelry store, and he was later suspected of theft. I'm curious, if a person steals in a similar manner – hiding valuables, for example, by swallowing them – what legal responsibility do they bear? Will such a method of concealing evidence affect the punishment or the course of the investigation?