Jewel thieves get jail time for robbing celebrities’ homes of $34.9 million
A gang of jewelry thieves has been jailed for a string of burglaries on the homes of celebrities, described by authorities as the “highest value series of residential burglaries in UK history.”
Jugoslav Jovanovic, Alessandro Donati and Alessandro Maltese targeted the homes of high-profile figures, where they made off with a combined £26 million — or $34.9 million — worth of jewelry and luxury stolen goods, according to CNN. Some their victims included soccer manager and former England player Frank Lampard, television presenter Christine Lampard, Formula 1 heiress Tamara Ecclestone and the late chairman of the Leicester City soccer club, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.
The group traveled from Milan, Italy, to the United Kingdom just days before carrying out their first burglary on Dec. 1, 2019, according to London’s Metropolitan Police. They managed to steal £60,000 or $80,600 from the home in the upmarket London borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Just a few days later, they lifted £1 million — $1.34 million — of watches and cash from an address in Knightsbridge.
Their third burglary, at a home in Palace Green, netted them more than £26 million in diamonds, precious stones, watches and cash.
Upon their arrest earlier this year, authorities said the “three of them individually praised us for working out who they were and locating them.”
The break in the case came by way of a grainy 13-second clip of CCTV footage, which revealed the burglars sneaking through the back garden of the Palace Green property and back out again. From there, they slipped into a black cab and disappeared into the night.
Authorities identified 1,007 potential cabs that could have been the getaway vehicle, ultimately finding the driver after interviewing 1,004 others.
All three thieves appeared in court and were sentenced on Monday.
Jovanovic, 24, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle and conspiracy to money laundering, was handed a total of 11 years in jail.
Donati, 44, and Maltese, 45, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle and were both given sentences of eight years and nine months.
