Three men have been found guilty in relation to an ‘audacious’ raid on Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill, where they stole a golden toilet valued at a whopping £4.75million. The gang of thieves are believed to have broken it into pieces and sold it off.

The hefty 18-carat loo, weighing around 98 kilograms, was stolen by the gang in the early hours after smashing through the palace’s gates, just two days after it had been put on display for the public at the historic Oxfordshire estate.

James Sheen, aged 40, along with his accomplices, rammed two stolen cars through the palace barriers just before 5am, September 14, 2019. During their trial, the courtroom was shown CCTV evidence depicting two men brandishing a sledgehammer and a crowbar before breaking into the main building and removing the fully functional toilet.

Following the heist, the precious piece dubbed ‘America’ was chucked in the back of one of the stolen vehicles, swiftly dismantled and then flogged – leaving not a trace of the bling art installation behind.

Despite the heist being completed within a tight five-minute timeframe, the meticulously planned theft still left an array of clues including DNA, security footage, and digital breadcrumbs.

CPS Prosecutor Shan Saunders 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.”

James Sheen, 40, from Oxford, pleaded guilty to the crime last year after police found his DNA at the scene and gold fragments in his clothing.

While Sheen was one of the masterminds behind the burglary, Michael Jones, 39, played his part by carrying out a reconnaissance visit at the palace in the days prior to the theft and was present on the night the toilet was stolen.

During the trial, Michael Jones, 39, was revealed as the one who laid the groundwork for the theft by conducting reconnaissance and snapping detailed photographs just days before the burglary. Jones chronicled everything from the toilet itself to the lock on its door and the very window the gang would eventually use to break into the stately home.

A few days after the burglary, Sheen contacted Fred Doe, 36, to ask him 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 said alluded to the men getting £26,500 per kilo of the stolen gold.

On Tuesday, a jury at Oxford Crown Court found Michael Jones guilty of burglary and Fred Doe guilty of conspiracy to convert or transfer criminal property. Bora Guccuk, 41, was found not guilty of conspiracy to convert or transfer criminal property.

Sheen had been charged with one count of burglary, one count of conspiring to convert or transfer criminal property, and one count of converting or transferring criminal property earlier this year. His DNA was found both on a sledgehammer left at the scene and in the stolen Isuzu truck used in the raid.

Tracksuit bottoms confiscated from his residence were found to have hundreds of gold fragments on them, which, upon analysis, were indistinguishable from the gold used to make the toilet.

The men will be sentenced at a future date.