Overview

• The 18-carat ‘America’ sculpture by Maurizio Cattelan was ripped from Blenheim Palace in a dawn raid using sledgehammers and stolen vehicles in under six minutes
• James Sheen received a consecutive four-year term for orchestrating the burglary while Michael Jones, who conducted reconnaissance visits, was jailed for 27 months
• Frederick Doe was convicted of conspiracy to transfer criminal property and handed a 21-month suspended sentence after brokering initial gold sales
• Investigators secured convictions using CCTV footage, DNA traces on the sledgehammer and mobile-phone records revealing coded messages about selling the gold as “cars”
• Thames Valley Police has launched domestic asset-recovery efforts and international inquiries to trace the proceeds of the melted-down gold