Two members of a Romanian crime gang burgled the £13.4 million UK home of “Peppa Pig” creator Mark Baker, making off with valuables worth about $87,500 more than a decade after taking part in one of the world’s biggest art thefts.
Radu Dogaru, 41, and Adrian Alempi, 34, entered the English animator’s secluded south-west England property through a first-floor window on Valentine’s Day. The break-in took place during the 90 minutes Baker and his wife were away, a court heard during the men’s sentencing on Tuesday.
“The value of the stolen items was [$87,500] and included jewellery, a Rolex watch, Chanel and other designer handbags and suitcases,” prosecutor Joanne Cecil told the court, according to the Sun.
Both men had already served prison sentences over a 2012 robbery at a Dutch gallery, where paintings by Picasso, Matisse and Monet were among the works stolen.
Alempi had illegally entered the UK only a day before the raid on the cartoon creator’s 12,500-square-foot home.
The burglars were seen at a subway station roughly two hours before the break-in and returned there afterward carrying items taken from the property, including a Louis Vuitton suitcase.
Dogaru and Alempi were placed under surveillance, but that did not prevent them from attempting to target another large London home three days later.
Police caught the pair as they boarded a bus in an apparent attempt to leave the area, after they had already filled their bags with valuables.
Investigators later executed a search warrant at Dogaru’s property and recovered some of Baker’s stolen belongings, prosecutors said, though they did not specify which items were found.
The two men had previously been convicted over the October 2012 Kunsthal gallery heist in Rotterdam.
Among the works stolen were Picasso’s “Tête d’Arlequin,” Matisse’s “La Liseuse en Blanc et Jaune,” and Monet’s “Waterloo Bridge, London,” which were insured for an estimated $24.4 million.
Dogaru was released from prison in either 2017 or 2018 despite being sentenced to six years behind bars in February 2014, while Alempi received a five-year prison term.
Dogaru has since been sentenced to four years behind bars, while his accomplice has been hit with a five-year prison sentence.
Alempi also pleaded guilty to entering the UK illegally the day before carrying out the heist.
Meanwhile, Baker’s wife has been left traumatized – and has even thought her husband was a crook by mistake.
“She didn’t want to leave the house in case she came back to find it burgled again,” Cecil said.
“She said she screamed when her husband came up behind her wearing dark clothes as she thought he was a burglar.”
With Post wires.