Police in the United Kingdom believe they have discovered who stole a valuable palace throne: a fully functioning gold toilet named “America” worth $6 million.
The 18-karat urinal, once on display at New York’s Guggenheim Museum, caused a sensation when it was stolen nearly four years ago from Winston Churchill’s childhood home, Blenheim Palace.
Police have now arrested seven suspected looters (a 38-year-old woman and six men, between 38 and 68) on suspicion of handling stolen property or conspiring to steal or commit robbery, according to the BBC.
They have since been released while the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) examines the file “to make a decision on charges”, prosecutors told the BBC.
“Several individuals remain at large under investigation in connection with this case,” CPS said.
Despite the potential breakthrough, the gold toilet has yet to be found and experts fear it may have been melted down long ago, the Art Newspaper reported.
The fully functioning toilet was stolen from an exhibition in September 2019. Getty Images
Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan called his bathroom “America” to reflect America’s excesses, and it was a controversial exhibit for years at the Guggenheim, where visitors were allowed to use it while guards were outside.
The museum caused a stir in 2018 when it offered to send the urinal to the White House for then-President Donald Trump’s butt.
The golden throne was then brought to the United Kingdom, where it was displayed at the appropriately named Blenheim Palace, the 187-room estate that was home to wartime leader Churchill.
The toilet was stolen from the 18th century Blenheim Palace estate. Getty Images
It had been on display for only two days when it was ripped off and smuggled out in two cars just before 5am on September 14, 2019, the BBC said.
As the object was fully installed for the exhibition, thieves were forced to cut it of pipes and other fittings, causing flooding at this UNESCO World Heritage site.
The 55-pound toilet was previously on display in New York. AFP/Getty Images
Creator Cattelan previously called the crime “very serious, if a bit surreal, since the subject of the robbery was a toilet.”
“At first, when they woke me up this morning to the news, I thought it was a joke: Who’s stupid enough to rob a bathroom?” Cattelan told the New York Times after the robbery.
“’America’ was the 1 percent to the 99 percent, and I hope it still is. “I want to be positive and think that the robbery is some kind of Robin Hood-inspired action… I wish it was a joke,” she said.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn