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Thieves stole gold toilet worth ₹42.5 crore in 5-minute heist at Blenheim Palace
Thieves executed a swift heist at Blenheim Palace, stealing a solid gold toilet valued at approximately ₹42.48 crore.
In an audacious five-minute heist, thieves stole a solid gold toilet valued at £4.8 million (approximately ₹42.5 crore) from Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, in. The fully functional toilet, part of an art exhibition, was never recovered and is believed to have been melted down, reported the BBC.
The fully functional, 18-carat gold fixture, titled “America,” was part of an exhibition by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan. The theft occurred in the early hours of 14 September 2019, when a group of five individuals used two vehicles to break through the palace’s locked gates. They then smashed their way into the building with sledgehammers, which were left at the scene. The entire operation took just five minutes.
Trial
They are currently on trial at Oxford Crown Court, denying the charges against them.
Prosecutor Julian Christopher KC informed Oxford Crown Court that the stolen artwork was likely melted down into smaller quantities of gold and has not been recovered. Michael Jones, 39, from Divinity Road, Oxford, is accused of taking a photograph 17 hours before the theft as part of the reconnaissance for the burglary. He denies the burglary charge.
Two other men, Fred Doe (formerly known as Frederick Sines), 36, from Windsor, and 41-year-old Bora Guccuk from west London, have pleaded not guilty to conspiring to transfer criminal property. Evidence presented in court included messages, voice notes, and screengrabs from the phones of Sheen, Doe, and Guccuk, indicating negotiations for a price of £25,632 (approximately ₹22.7 lakh) per kilogram.
Reportedly, it weighed around 98 kg and was insured for six million dollars.
At the time of the theft, the gold used to make it was valued at approximately £2.8 million.
