Millions of celebrities looted: English burglar gang has to go to prison for a long time

In the case of a spectacular series of burglaries with several prominent victims in London, three men have been sentenced to long prison terms.

As the court in the British capital announced on Monday, a 24-year-old was sentenced to eleven years in prison.

Two other men, aged 44 and 45, are imprisoned for eight years and nine months, respectively.

The men had previously confessed their involvement in the series of burglaries in December 2019. Among the victims were celebrities such as Tamara Ecclestone (37), daughter of the Formula 1 founder Bernie Ecclestone (91), and ex-soccer star Frank Lampard (43).

In Tamara Ecclestone's house alone, the gang is said to have looted jewels and valuables worth 25 million pounds (around 29 million euros). According to the police, the case is considered to be the most valuable loot in English criminal history. They also broke into the house of ex-soccer star Lampard and took away items worth tens of thousands of pounds. Valuable clocks, Buddha pendants and hundreds of thousands of pounds of cash were stolen from the property of the previously deceased Leicester City football club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. Most of the prey has not yet been traced.

The British investigators had followed the intruders to Italy, where they could be arrested.

They were then extradited to the UK.

A fourth suspect is still on the run.

He is said to be in the Serbian capital Belgrade.

Taxi driver gives crucial advice

The gang had left next to no trace on the crime scenes. "They moved like ghosts through London," said Detective Constable Andy Payne of the London police, according to Sky News. The burglars always made sure to move in the shade and look at the ground when they passed surveillance cameras. They also covered their tracks by using unregistered cell phones and paying in cash. The starting point of the investigation was only the 15-second blurred recording of a surveillance camera in the garden of Villa Ecclestone.

The gang's investigators found out about the gang, among other things, by meticulously viewing more than 2000 hours of footage from surveillance cameras, the police said.

They also spoke to around 1,000 taxi drivers, one of whom finally remembered the suspects and gave the crucial clue.

Later DNA traces from the crime scenes could also be assigned to the men.

Gang celebrated their raids exuberantly

The intruders themselves would have felt as "inviolable", said Payne on.

They reportedly celebrated the successful raids with dinner at a luxury restaurant and shopping at the glamorous Harrods department store.

The victims of the break-ins, Tamara Ecclestone, reported to the court on Monday before the sentence was announced about the psychological consequences of the break-ins.

Tamara Ecclestone complained of anxiety.

You can no longer trust anyone, so the daughter of the ex-Formula 1 boss.

Ex-footballer Frank Lampard was also badly affected by the break-in at his home in Chelsea.

Both he and his partner have suffered from insomnia since then, according to the former English national soccer player.

The relatives of Srivaddhanaprabha, who had died in a helicopter crash the previous year, were also badly hit.

After his death, the property was converted into a shrine, which was desecrated by the burglary, the family said.