Two men have been convicted over the theft of a £4.8million golden toilet, snatched in a dramatic five-minute raid at Blenheim Palace.
Michael Jones, 39, was found guilty of burglary, while Fred Doe, 36, was convicted of trying to sell the stolen gold, following a trial at Oxford Crown Court.
They face the prospect of years behind bars alongside James Sheen, 40, who pleaded guilty to burglary at an earlier hearing.
A fourth defendant, Bora Guccuk, 41, was found not guilty of converting or transferring criminal property.
Police are now facing questions over their failure to locate any of the stolen gold, the bullion merchants who bought it, or the other three burglars, despite a five-year investigation.
The 18-carat golden toilet was an artwork called ‘America’ by satirist Maurizio Cattelan and had been plumbed in at Blenheim Palace for visitors to use at an exhibition in September 2019.
But in the early hours of September 14 – just two days after the toilet went on display – a gang of five men came screeching into the grounds of Winston Churchill’s birthplace in two stolen cars.
Extraordinary CCTV captured the unfolding raid as three of the men smashed their way through a window with sledgehammers and crowbars and emerged just minutes later with the golden toilet.
Michael Jones, 39, (pictured outside Oxford Crown Court) was found guilty of burglary
Fred Doe (pictured), was convicted of trying to sell the stolen gold, following a trial at Oxford Crown Court
James Sheen (pictured), previously admitted to stealing the 18-carat gold toilet
The solid 18-carat gold toilet stolen from Blenheim Palace during the overnight raid
The toilet is seen being rolled towards one of the waiting vehicles, which sags visibly as its weight is loaded into the boot, before both cars sped away.
Police said yesterday that they believe ‘within hours of being stolen the toilet was taken to multiple locations melted down and then sold off’. No trace has ever been recovered.
Sheen, who pleaded guilty to burglary in April last year, bragged in a message to Doe that he had made £520,000 from selling his share of the gold to an unidentified jeweller in Birmingham.
His message was accompanied by a picture showing a large pile of cash.
Jones worked for Sheen’s construction company and was caught on camera carrying out an amateurish reconnaissance of Blenheim Palace on two occasions, including the day before the burglary.
He took pictures of the window which was later used by the gang to smash into the palace, as well as pictures of the golden toilet and the lock on the door of the cubicle.
CCTV shows one of the raiders holding a golden toilet seat during the five-minute heist in September 2019
The toilet (pictured) was taken in September 2019 while it formed part of an art installation entitled ‘America’
The exhibition allowed visitors to look at and even sit on the statement toilet, which was designed by artist Maurizio Cattelan and plumbed in the palace, near the room where Winston Churchill was born (pictured: the empty space left after the toilet was taken)
Bora Guccuk (pictured outside Oxford Crown Court) was acquitted of trying to launder the stolen gold
Crossbow used by the toilet raider gang to steal the solid gold toilet
Sheen, who pleaded guilty in April last year, bragged to Doe with a picture showing a large pile of cash
Giving evidence, he told the court he had used the toilet during his visit and described the experience as ‘splendid’.
Prosecutors claimed he was also part of the burglary gang that night.
Doe became involved in the conspiracy when he heard Sheen – whom he knew through the traveller community – had snatched the toilet and offered to use his extensive contacts in Hatton Garden to sell the stolen gold.
Formerly known as Fred Sines, Doe is the son of multimillionaire caravan magnate Maurice ‘Fred’ Sines – who has been accused by Irish authorities of being an ally of the notorious Kinahan organised crime clan.
Within hours of the burglary, Doe had contacted Guccuk, who ran a jewellery shop called Pacha of London in Hatton Garden, setting in motion an attempt to sell Sheen’s share of the gold.
Prosecutors have accepted it is unclear whether this sale went ahead or ultimately fell through, given Sheen’s later message to Doe suggesting he sold the gold in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter.
Questions are mounting for police over their failure to snare the three other members of the burglary gang, despite one man being heavily linked to the burglary throughout the trial.
An individual named in court as Carl Davies was said to be the first person to contact Doe about the stolen gold and he later went with Sheen to Birmingham when he sold his share.
Jones carried out reconnaissance before the heist, was in regular contact with one of the ringleaders and took pictures of the toilet on his phone (pictured)
The sledgehammer-wielding gang were caught on CCTV (pictured) rolling the toilet out of smashed window and into the boot of a waiting car, before screeching away
Jones carried out a ‘carefully planned reconnaissance’ before the heist
The toilet, which weighed 98kg fully plumbed in, was snatched in a dramatic five-minute raid on Blenheim Palace (pictured) shortly before 5am on September 14, 2019
Sledge-hammer used by the gang during the ‘audacious’ five-minute heist
He also lived in a caravan park where cell site data placed Sheen’s phone just minutes after the burglary.
‘Carl Davies seems to be in this up to his neck,’ Crispin Aylett KC, representing Doe, told the court.
‘At very least there is evidence of his telephone going to Birmingham. Why isn’t he in the dock?’
Mr Aylett said it was ‘a somewhat unsatisfactory state of affairs’ that the other burglars had ‘filled their boots’, while the police were left unable to ‘flush them out’.
None of the gold bullion merchants who bought the stolen gold have been charged and the ultimate fate of the gold remains a mystery.
While a jury of eight women and four men concluded Doe must have known the gold was stolen, they acquitted Guccuk.
Police had recovered many voice notes and messages sent between Doe and Sheen, but there were very few sent by Guccuk indicating he had any knowledge of the gold being stolen.
His barrister Kevin Dent KC said in his closing speech: ‘It’s also not the question whether Mr Guccuk considered it very likely or even highly likely that the gold was stolen.
‘The question for you is: did Mr Guccuk know that the gold represented the proceeds of crime. Nothing else will do. In the context of this case, you may think that’s a very hard test for the prosecution to meet.’
The gang, armed with sledgehammers and crossbars, bundling the £4.8million toilet into the back of a car
One of the thieves carrying the gold the 18-carat gold toilet seat (pictured)
Jones visited the palace several days before the exhibition arrived and took photos of the grounds, as well as taking photos of the toilet itself.
Court artist sketch of (left to right) Michael Jones, Fred Doe, who were found guilty, and Bora Guccuk, who was found not guilty
A silver pick-up truck used in the raid which was found abandoned nearby
Thames Valley Police has vowed to try to claw back some of the gang’s ill-gotten gains through Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings after the first convictions were secured.
The force said it conducted a ‘complex investigation’ which led to ‘multiple arrests’ in addition to the four defendants, but ‘there was not sufficient evidence to bring further charges’.
A spokesman said: ‘With regards to the Blenheim Palace burglary, a corresponding financial investigation is ongoing however the monetary details of this will only be realised if the defendants are convicted and sentenced. We will continue to explore all opportunities, along with our partners, to recover assets from those connected to this investigation and their criminality.
‘Additional financial investigations are actively ongoing with our partners for a significant amount in assets related to other criminality linked to James Sheen.
‘It is our belief that within hours of being stolen the toilet was taken to multiple locations, melted down and then sold off through varying routes. This makes the gold highly difficult to trace.
‘However if information comes to light we will act upon it.’
Doe will be sentenced on May 19, while Sheen and Jones are to be sentenced on a later date to be set.
Shan Saunders of the Crown Prosecution Service said: ‘This was an audacious raid which had been carefully planned and executed – but those responsible were not careful enough, leaving a trail of evidence in the form of forensics, CCTV footage and phone data.
‘It has been a complex case to prosecute, involving a nationwide investigation with many lines of inquiry to identify those who were subsequently charged in relation to the theft.
‘While none of the gold was ever recovered – no doubt having been broken up or melted down and sold on soon after it was stolen – we are confident this prosecution has played a part in disrupting a wider crime and money laundering network.’
