Lampard hit by rogues in £26m spree
THREE members of the gang that stole £26million of cash, jewellery and gems from celebrity homes in Britain’s biggest ever burglary spree have been jailed.
Jugoslav Jovanovic, 24, Alessandro Maltese, 45, and Alessandro Donati, 44, were behind three raids in west London over 13 days in December 2019.
Victims included former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard, 43, and his TV star wife Christine, 42, inset, the late Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and socialite Tamara Ecclestone. Ms Ecclestone, 37, the daughter of exformula 1 boss Bernie, was on holiday in Lapland with her husband, art gallery owner Jay Rutland, 38, when their mansion in Kensington was raided on December 13.
Cash, jewellery and precious stones worth £25m were stolen in what is believed to have been the UK’S biggest domestic raid.
Police said the gang are understood to have carried out similar crimes against high-profile victims across Europe.
Jovanovic, Maltese and Donati were extradited from their homeland Italy and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle.
Jovanovic also admitted conspiracy to launder money and one count of attempting to convert criminal property.
He was jailed for 11 years by Judge Martin Edmunds QC at Isleworth Crown Court. Maltese and Donati were each jailed for eight years and nine months.
The judge told them: “The distress caused by the burglary of a home of householders who may be well-known or wealthy is no less than that caused to those in different circumstances.”
The men will return to Italy to serve their sentences following proceeds of crime proceedings in the UK.