Two Men Who Stole Golden Toilet Worth N9.5bn Convicted By Court
- Two men have been convicted for stealing a golden toilet which was created as a piece of art by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan
- The golden toilet, which weighed 98kg was plumbed in at an Oxfordshire country house where Winston Churchill was born
- However, the toilet did not stay there for long as a man identified as Michael Jones planned with others and stole the 18-carat gold
A heavy toilet, made of 18-carat gold, was moved by thieves from where it was plumbed in the UK.
The golden toilet was plumbed in and was in use in an Oxfordshire country house where Winston Churchill was born.
The toilet was an artistic piece usually used for exhibition and was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan.
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When it was displayed at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, 100,000 people queued to use it.
However, when it was brought to the UK, thieves planned and stole it from where it was plumbed in.
Golden toilet worth N9.5 billion stolen by thieves
According to reports, the golden toilet which weighed 98kg was stolen by Michael Jones alongside one other accomplice who has now been convicted of the crime.
The toilet is said to be worth £4.8m (N9.5 billion) and police believe it was sold by the thieves and that it must have been melted.
Shan Saunders, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said the crime was audacious, but maintained that those who did it left a trail of evidence which eventually got them nailed.
She said:
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“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.”
Despite the arrest of those who committed the crime, the golden toilet could not be recovered.
The theft happened around 4.50am when the thieves were believed to have arrived with two stolen vehicles, a VW Golf and an Isuzu truck. This was in 2019.
Speaking after it was stolen, Maurizio Cattelan, the artist who created the toilet, said:
“Who’s so stupid to steal a toilet?"
Also convicted for the crime is James Sheen, 40, who helped transfer the stolen toilet.
Mechanic allegedly steals parts of a stabiliser
In a related story reported by Legit.ng, a Nigerian lady shared the story of how she lost the vital parts of her stabiliser to the technician who came to her house.
The lady said she called the man to come and work on her refrigerator at her place but she is now regretting it.
She said the technician removed all the vital parts of the stabiliser and replaced it with a stone and then left.
Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, copy editor at Legit.ng.
