Ecclestone burglary: Four cleared over £26m celebrity raids

The homes of Frank and Christine Lampard, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and Tamara Ecclestone and her husband were broken into in December 2019

Four people have been cleared of being involved in a plot to raid the luxury homes of celebrities in west London.

Items belonging to Frank Lampard, Tamara Ecclestone and the family of tycoon Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha were among the items taken during three burglaries in December 2019.

Prosecutors said Maria Mester, 48, Emil Bogdan Savastru, 30, Sorin Marcovici, 53, and Alexandru Stan, 49, were a "supporting cast" for the burglars.

But a jury found all four not guilty.

Isleworth Crown Court heard the three burglaries had netted "big money" for the raiders, with "fabulous jewellery" stolen and the majority of it having never been recovered.

Jay Rutland, Tamara Ecclestone and their daughter had left for Lapland on the morning of the burglary

Jewellery and cash worth £25m was taken from Ms Ecclestone's Kensington home while she was on holiday in Lapland with her husband Jay Rutland and their daughter.

Mr Lampard and his TV presenter wife Christine had about £60,000 in watches and jewellery stolen when they were out, while raiders also ransacked the family home of Mr Srivaddhanaprabha, who died in 2018 in a helicopter crash, the jury was told.

The four defendants were accused of eight charges including conspiracy to burgle.

However, each denied their involvement with the plot, saying they had no knowledge that the alleged burglars were criminals.

Jurors were shown an image from Maria Mester's Facebook account, in which she was said to be wearing Tamara Ecclestone's necklace

The court heard escort Ms Mester had flown into the UK from Italy on 7 December.

Police described her as the plot's "matriarch", but the 48-year-old told jurors she was only in London after being paid £5,000 to accompany one of the alleged burglars for the week.

Savastru was arrested at Heathrow Airport on 30 January as he prepared to leave for Japan, wearing Mr Srivaddhanaprabha's Tag watch and carrying a Louis Vuitton bag stolen from Mr Rutland.

He told the court he thought the items had been left behind by the alleged burglars at the Airbnb property he had helped them rent.

The four Romanian nationals were cleared of all charges apart from Savastru, who was convicted of one count of attempting to conceal criminal property.

The 30-year-old will be sentenced at a later date.

A group of alleged burglars, who cannot be named for legal reasons, are accused of carrying out the raids.