Thieves Stealing 18-Carat Loo Caught On Camera

CCTV footage has captured the moment suspected thieves made off with a £4.8 million golden toilet from Blenheim Palace. The fully functional, 18-carat gold lavatory was stolen in a daring raid in the early hours of September 14, 2019, lasting just five minutes.

Jurors were shown footage of a stolen Isuzu truck speeding across the palace lawn before stopping at the 20 steps leading to the entrance. Moments later, a second stolen vehicle, a VW Golf, pulled up alongside it. At 4:50 a.m., three men approached the building, two wielding sledgehammers, while two drivers remained in the vehicles.

While the break-in itself was not captured on video, Oxford Crown Court heard that the men smashed a window to gain entry before heading directly to the display room. Prosecutor Julian Christopher KC explained: "They knew exactly where to go, broke down the wooden door to the cubicle where the lavatory was fully plumbed in, and removed it, leaving water gushing from the pipes."

At 4:53 a.m., the men were seen rolling the stolen toilet out of the building before loading it into the VW Golf, its suspension sagging under the 98kg weight. One of the thieves was also seen carrying the golden toilet seat, which was thrown into the car. Palace security guards, monitoring the heist via CCTV, pursued the thieves on foot as the vehicles sped away.

The lavatory, insured for $6 million (£4.75 million), was titled America and created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. It had been installed at the palace as an artwork just days before the theft.

Three men have since appeared in court in connection with the crime. Michael Jones, 39, from Oxford, pleaded not guilty to stealing the artwork. Frederick Sines, 36, also known as Frederick Doe, from Winkfield, Windsor, and Bora Guccuk, 41, from west London, have denied conspiracy to transfer criminal property. Prosecutors allege that Doe and Guccuk conspired with James Sheen, another defendant, to sell some of the stolen gold in the weeks following the burglary.

Sheen, 40, from Wellingborough, Northants, has already pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy to transfer criminal property, and transferring criminal property at Oxford Crown Court in April 2024.

The golden lavatory has never been recovered and is believed to have been broken down and sold off. Just days after the theft, prosecutors allege, two men were overheard using the word "car" as a code for the stolen gold while in contact with a Hatton Garden jeweller.

Prosecutors also revealed that Jones had visited Blenheim Palace with his partner, Carly Jones, five days before the exhibition opened—a visit they believe was a reconnaissance mission ahead of the theft.

The trial is ongoing.

GV Hale