Latest news with #goldtheft
The Guardian
19-05-2025
- The Guardian
Man handed suspended sentence over role in Blenheim Palace £4.8m gold toilet heist
One of the gang members convicted over the theft of a £4.8m gold toilet from an art exhibition at Blenheim Palace has been handed a suspended sentence at Oxford crown court. Frederick Doe, 36, also known as Frederick Sines, from Windsor, had been convicted by a jury of conspiring to transfer criminal property. He was accused of offering to find a buyer for the gold and brokering the deal. Judge Ian Pringle KC sentenced Doe to 21 months' imprisonment suspended for two years and ordered him to do 240 hours of unpaid work. Doe was found guilty by a jury at the same court in March of conspiracy to transfer criminal property. He helped one of the men who pleaded guilty to carrying out the burglary, James Sheen, to sell some of the gold in the following weeks, the court heard. The judge said Doe had been of previous good character and accepted that the conspirators may have taken advantage of his good nature. Pringle said Doe was 'targeted' for his legitimate contacts in the Hatton Garden jewellery district. The 18-carat fully functioning lavatory, which weighed about 98kg, was stolen in September 2019 while it was featuring in an art exhibition and is believed to have been broken up and disposed of. None of the gold has been recovered. Two other men will be sentenced in June for their part in the heist. Michael Jones was found guilty of planning the burglary and James Sheen admitted stealing the toilet.
Sky News
19-05-2025
- Sky News
Man involved in theft of £4.75m gold toilet from Blenheim Palace sentenced
A man involved in the theft of a £4.75m gold toilet from the house where Sir Winston Churchill was born has been handed a suspended sentence. The fully functioning 18-carat gold artwork, titled America, was stolen from Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire during the early hours of 14 September 2019. In March, Frederick Doe was found guilty of conspiracy to convert or transfer criminal property. On Monday at Oxford Crown Court, Judge Ian Pringle KC sentenced Doe to 21 months imprisonment suspended for two years and ordered him to do 240 hours unpaid work. A court previously heard how Doe, also known as Frederick Sines, from Windsor in Berkshire, helped mastermind James Sheen sell some of the gold in the weeks after the theft. Sheen, from Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, had earlier pleaded guilty to burglary. He also admitted conspiracy to transfer criminal property and one count of transferring criminal property at Oxford Crown Court in April 2024. Co-accused Michael Jones, from Oxford, had denied any wrongdoing, but was found guilty of burglary at the time of Doe's conviction. Both Sheen and Jones will be sentenced next month. During court proceedings, Prosecutor Julian Christopher KC said five men carried out the raid; however, only Jones and Sheen have been caught. 1:13 Sheen and his accomplices drove two stolen vehicles, a VW Golf and an Isuzu truck, through locked gates at Blenheim Palace shortly before 5am on the night of the raid. Thames Valley Police said three men armed with sledgehammers and a crowbar gained entry to the palace, smashed through the solid wooden door and tore the toilet from its fixings. The carefully planned raid was over within five minutes. The gold was believed to be worth about £2.8m at the time of the theft. However, the artwork, which weighed around 98kg, had been insured for the price of £4.75m. A couple of days after the burglary, Sheen contacted Doe about selling the gold. Through coded messages, the two men talked about "cars" and getting offered "26 and a half" - which the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) argued referred to the men getting £26,500 per kilo of the stolen gold. Jones, who had visited the stately home twice in the days before the raid, was arrested on 16 October 2019 before officers analysed his phone. The force found he had searched for news reports about the stolen toilet on 20 September 2019. Meanwhile, Sheen's DNA was found both on a sledgehammer left at the scene and in the stolen Isuzu truck used in the raid. Tracksuit bottoms seized at his home had hundreds of gold fragments on them, which, when analysed, were indistinguishable from the gold from which the toilet was made. The sculpture, which was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, was the star attraction of an exhibition at the country house before it was stolen. It could be used as a toilet by members of the public, with Jones telling the jury he took advantage of the artwork's "facilities" during a visit to Blenheim Palace the day before it was taken. Asked what it was like, he replied: "Splendid." None of the gold was ever recovered, with the CPS saying it is likely to have been "broken up or melted down and sold on soon after it was stolen". Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
National Post
15-05-2025
- National Post
Getaway driver in Pearson airport heist pleads guilty to new U.S. gun charge
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Canadian man who drove the getaway truck in the biggest gold theft in Canadian history has pleaded guilty to a federal firearms charge after he sneaked into the United States, where he was caught trying to smuggle out 65 guns, authorities said Wednesday. Article content Article content Durante King-Mclean faces up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court in Pennsylvania, authorities said. King-Mclean, who was arrested in 2023, had been facing six illegal weapons charges before he pleaded guilty to one of the charges. Article content Article content Article content In the stolen cargo container were 6,600 gold bars worth more than $20 million, as well as $2.5 million in foreign currencies, authorities said. Article content Police said the 6,600 gold bars were melted down in a Toronto jewelry store and sold, and the proceeds used to purchase the firearms in the U.S. King-Mclean, of Ontario, was the truck driver who picked up the gold from the airport cargo terminal, authorities say. Article content King-Mclean sneaked illegally into the United States and had been staying in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, until he rented the vehicle and drove north toward Canada with the illegal handguns, authorities said. Article content He was arrested in Pennsylvania five months after the heist following a traffic stop with the 65 illegal firearms that were destined to be smuggled into Canada, authorities said. King-Mclean tried to flee Pennsylvania State Police troopers after they discovered the firearms — each concealed in a sock — in his rental car, authorities said. Article content Two of the firearms were fully automatic, 11 were stolen and one had an obliterated serial number, authorities said. Article content
CTV News
14-05-2025
- CTV News
Man who allegedly drove getaway truck in Pearson gold heist pleads guilty to U.S. gun charge
Durante King-Mclean - the man who drove the getaway truck in the biggest gold theft in Canadian history - has pleaded guilty to a U.S. firearms charge. HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Canadian man who drove the getaway truck in the biggest gold theft in Canadian history has pleaded guilty to a federal firearms charge after he sneaked into the United States, where he was caught trying to smuggle out 65 guns, authorities said Wednesday. Durante King-Mclean faces up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court in Pennsylvania, authorities said. King-Mclean, who was arrested in 2023, had been facing six illegal weapons charges before he pleaded guilty to one of the charges. King-Mclean's lawyer did not immediately comment. At least 10 people have been charged by Canadian and U.S. authorities in connection with the guns and the heist of a cargo container from Toronto's Pearson International Airport two years ago. In the stolen cargo container were 6,600 gold bars worth more than 20 million Canadian dollars ($14.5 million) and CA$2.5 million ($1.8 million) in foreign currencies, authorities said. Police said the 6,600 gold bars were melted down in a Toronto jewelry store and sold, and the proceeds used to purchase the firearms in the U.S. King-Mclean, of Ontario, was the truck driver who picked up the gold from the airport cargo terminal, authorities say. King-Mclean sneaked illegally into the United States and had been staying in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, until he rented the vehicle and drove north toward Canada with the illegal handguns, authorities said. He was arrested in Pennsylvania five months after the heist following a traffic stop with the 65 illegal firearms that were destined to be smuggled into Canada, authorities said. King-Mclean tried to flee Pennsylvania State Police troopers after they discovered the firearms — each concealed in a sock — in his rental car, authorities said. Two of the firearms were fully automatic, 11 were stolen and one had an obliterated serial number, authorities said.
