AN “audacious” group of thieves nicked a £4.8 million solid gold toilet from Blenheim Palace in just five minutes — before flogging it to a top Hatton Garden jeweller, a court heard.
Michael Jones is alleged to have smashed through the front gates of the Oxfordshire stately home and nabbed the artwork, “America”, in September 2019.
Michael Jones allegedly smashed through the front gates of Oxfordshire stately home Blenheim Palace and nabbed the artwork, ‘America’, in September 2019[/caption]
Blenheim Palace, where the alleged crime took place[/caption]
Pal Fred Doe is accused of selling the gold to jeweller Bora Guccuk alongside group figurehead James Sheen.
The toilet — which weighed 98kg (15st 4lbs) and was insured for £4.8million — had been fully plumbed in, causing significant damage when it was removed.
Prosecutor Julian Christopher KC told Oxford crown court: “The burglary was carefully planned and swiftly carried out.
“The men drove through locked wooden gates into the grounds of Blenheim Palace shortly before 5am in two stolen vehicles.
“They knew precisely where to go.
“They had sledgehammers, which they left at the scene.
“They went to the cubicle where the toilet was fully plumbed in, removed it, leaving water pouring out of the pipes, and drove away, spending just five minutes at the building.”
He added Jones, 40, who was working for ringleader Sheen’s building firm at the time, had made visits to the exhibition days before it opened.
Jones is alleged to have visited the toilet again only 17 hours before it was taken.
He is said to have snapped pictures of the loo, the inside of the door and the locks in the room in which it was on show, which had been guarded by a security officer.
Sheen, 39, has already pleaded guilty to burglary.
Jones was arrested in October 2019 and gave a no comment interview.
The toilet was never recovered and is believed to have been “split up into smaller amounts of gold and disposed of”.
Two days after the robbery, Sheen messaged Doe: “I got something right up your path.”
They went on to discuss how much the “car” — which the prosecutor said was a euphemism for the gold — was worth before Doe called Hatton Garden jewellers Pacha of London, owned by Mr Guccuk.
Mr Guccuk, 40, eventually paid £25,632 per kilogram, nearly £4,000 below market value, and planned to sell it on for £28,580.
The prosecutor said “Mr Guccuk must have known what type of gold he was getting”.
Jones, of Oxford, denies one count of burglary. Doe, of Ascot, Berks, also known as Fred Sines, and Guccuk, 40, of West London, both deny conspiracy to transfer criminal property.
The trial continues.
The fully plumbed gold toilet was ripped out in a matter of minutes, the court heard[/caption]
