A UK court has delivered a guilty verdict against members of a gang responsible for the theft of a golden toilet, a valuable piece of art that was on display at Blenheim Palace six years ago. This audacious heist, which took place just hours after the artwork’s unveiling, has been the subject of intense investigation and public fascination.
According to reports from international news agencies, on March 18, 2023, a judge at the Oxford Crown Court found Michael Jones guilty of conspiring to steal the toilet, known as “America,” which is the work of the renowned artist Maurizio Cattelan. Jones’s accomplice, Fred Do, was also found guilty of conspiring to sell the stolen item. However, another suspect, Borja Gkukuc, was acquitted of all charges.
Interestingly, the gang’s modus operandi was caught on CCTV, which showed five men carrying out the theft, but so far, only two individuals have been apprehended and brought to justice. James Shién, a notorious figure with a history of crime, including six previous convictions since 2005, was identified as the mastermind behind the gang. He was arrested four weeks after the incident and later admitted to the crime in court, after DNA evidence and gold residue were found on his clothing. Despite being granted bail, Shién continued to engage in illicit activities, including a burglary at the National Horse Racing Museum in Newmarket, Suffolk, where he and his accomplices stole several valuable trophies.
Prosecutors revealed in court that the gang had meticulously planned the heist, with Shién visiting Blenheim Palace the day before the theft to take photographs of the toilet, the gate, and nearby windows. This information was used to facilitate the theft, which occurred just hours after the artwork’s unveiling, when the guests had left and the palace was less secure. The gang used a stolen vehicle to crash through the palace gates, smashed a window, and removed the toilet, all within a span of less than three minutes. The police arrived at the scene just five minutes after the alarm was triggered, but the thieves had already escaped.
The stolen toilet, weighing 98 kilograms and valued at around 4.8 million pounds (approximately 209 million Thai baht), was later sold by the gang. Shién attempted to find a buyer for the gold, offering it at a price of 25,500 pounds per kilogram, and contacted Do to assist in the sale, using encrypted voice messages to communicate. Do, 36, admitted in court to trying to help Shién sell the gold but claimed he was unaware that it was stolen.
The prosecution also stated that Shién and Do met with Borja Gkukuc, a jeweler, to discuss the sale, but the deal fell through due to disagreements over the price. Shién admitted to selling some of the gold in Birmingham, but the authorities have yet to recover any of the stolen items.
Source: BBC