The 4.8 million pound gold toilet was stolen after the gang collapsed through the gates of the Blenheim Palace, then broke the window to reach it before dismantling luxury luxury to sell in pieces, heard the court

A gold toilet worth 4.8 million pounds was stolen in a five-minute attack on the Blenheim Palace, before being broken down and sold by a tape, heard a court.

Three men went to the trial at Oxford Crown Court for their involvement in the plot to steal the 18 carat gold toilet – an art work entitled “America” ​​- and sell gold.

Michael Jones, 39 years old, from Oxford, is accused of burglary, while Frederick Doe, 36, from Windsor and Bora Guccuk, 41, from London, are accused of converting or transferring property. criminal. They deny the accusations.

Another alleged accomplice – James Sheen, 40 years old, from Welingborough in Northamptonshire – said to be guilty of a previous hearing.

Opening the case for criminal prosecution, Julian Christoper KC said that a five men gang passed through the wooden gates on the field of the Blenheim Palace shortly before 5 in the morning, on September 14, 2019, in two stolen vehicles.

He said to the jury: “They led on a field, until the front steps and threw themselves and broke through a window.

– Clearly, the robberies knew exactly where to go. They went to the wooden door of the toilet, they had sledgehammers with them.

“They removed the toilet, which was completely placed, they removed it, leaving the water that flows from the pipes and left. In total, they spent only five minutes in the building.

“Clearly, such an auditory attack would not have been possible without much training.”

The toilet was exhibited in an exhibition only a few days, from September 12. The prosecutor said that visitors were able to use the toilet, but they did not get stuck in the cabin, with a guard, instead they were waiting outside to make sure that no one else has entered.

A few days before the exhibition, Jones visited the Blenheim Palace with his partner, Carly, where he was supposed to take photos of the window later used as an entrance point.

Then, 17 hours before the toilet was stolen, Jones visited the exhibition and took a picture with the toilet.

Mr. Christopher said he was there “as part of recognition for theft.”

He said to the jury: “It was an unusual work of art, being a full functional toilet of 18 carat gold, entitled” America “.

“He weighed about 98 kg and was insured for $ 6 million; The gold from which it was obtained was worth it in the region of 2.8 million pounds at that time.

“Unfortunately, the work of art has never been recovered, it seems to have been divided into smaller amounts of gold and eliminated.

“The second and third defendant, Fred Doe and Bora Guccuk, are supposed to have accepted another of the men who performed theft, James Sheen, to sell some of it.

“Thus, the case is in two parts: the burglary itself and the sale of part of the gold in the two weeks after theft.”

Sheen said he was a builder and had a company called principle for home development and, at the time of theft, Jones worked for him.

But the prosecutor said, “We know that James Sheen was also a robber – he said guilty of theft.”

On the morning of September 13, 2019, Jones reserved to visit the exhibition, but Sheen was supposed to tell him to move to a previous slot that day.

Once there, Jones took pictures with the toilet door, showing the block, said the prosecutor.

“An unusual photo for the exhibition visitors, you could think,” he said.

“The criminal prosecution suggests that, in view of his two visits in rapid succession, his interest in the entrance window and the interest of James Sheen on his visit on September 13, there can be no doubt that he has made recognition for the theft It was to take place that night. Only that would be guilty of burglary.

But he said that the jury can conclude that Jones was there for attack – not only because it made sense of someone with knowledge about the next day.

“On the background of what I saw him doing the day before, we say that it seems that he was not only involved in doing the recognition, but he was up and acted at 5 in the morning when the theft took place,” he said the prosecutor.

Jones was arrested on October 16, 2019, and the police analyzed his phone, where he was supposed to have been looking for newspapers about the toilet on September 20.

Returning to charges of money laundering against Doe and Guccuk, the prosecutor said that a few days after burglary, Sheen sent Doe on WhatsApp.

His text said: “I will contact YA, I have something right on your path.”

Mr. Christopher said to the jury: “The criminal prosecution suggests that what Mr. Sheen said is” right on your path “was gold.”

They continued to exchange texts that refer to a “car” – about which the criminal prosecution said it is a reference to the stolen gold.

It was said that there is a reference to the “free lip diving ships”, before Doe, finally, tell Sheen: “I can sell the car for you in two seconds … so come See me tomorrow and take a bit of dinner or something. “

Sheen would have told Doe that the car was offered for “26 and a half”, which suggested that the criminal prosecution was a reference to a price that was offered to others for their golden share, 26,500 pounds on kilogram.

The normal price for gold at that time was about 29,000 pounds per kilogram for 18 carat gold, according to data from the London Bullion Market Association, the prosecutor said.

Doe replied “I will find a partner now”, but then “did not sound a second -hand car dealer, but rather a jeweler from London,” the court heard.

The prosecutor said that the jewelers who called were Pacha from London in Hatton Garden, London – a business owned by Guccuk.

In subsequent messages, Doe told Sheen that he had a friend who could “do down”, about whom the criminal prosecution said it is a clear reference to the melting of gold.

Mr. Christopher said: “If you have gold from a stolen toilet, you could think at a time along the line, you have to melt it to put it in bars -they could You think Mr. Doe is carefully thinking about how much he can say safe.