Thief Who Stole GBP 2 M Ferrari That Belonged To British F1 Legend Eddie Irvin Sentenced To 3 Years In Prison
The French national who stole a rare GBP-2 million Ferrari that once belonged to British F1 driving legend Eddie Irvine during a test drive has been sentenced to three years.
The 45-year-old French national, who made headlines two years ago for allegedly stealing a rare Ferrari model valued at over EUR 2.35 million (GBP 2 Million), in the German city of Dusseldorf was sentenced to three years behind bars by a district court yesterday (8th September).
The man, who was not named by local media, has been found guilty of stealing the 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO after he posed as a prospective buyer and took it on a test drive in the German city of Dusseldorf on 19th May 2019.
Following the test drive, instead of returning the vehicle back to the owner, the 45-year-old opened up the taps on the 395 horsepower Italian sports car and sped off into the distance.
The rare Ferrari 288 GTO sports car, one of 272 produced between 1984 and 1987, was found shortly afterwards in a garage in the town of Grevenbroich located to the southwest of Dusseldorf.
According to local media, the first owner of the stolen supercar was former F1 driver Eddie Irvine from Northern Ireland, a teammate of F1 legend Michael Schumacher, who won four Grand Prix wins during his career between 1993 and 2002.
The court used fingerprint evidence, witness testimony and security camera footage to confirm that the French man, who reportedly has an extensive criminal record, was the thief that drove off with the F1 legends Ferrari.
The 45-year-old was tracked down and found in the French city of Beauvais where he was serving a prison sentence for a similar crime he committed in France.
The Frenchman had to finish his sentence in France before he could be extradited to Germany for trial.
He was held in custody in Germany whilst the case was built against him and now he has finally been convicted.
Henner Apfel, the 45-year-old’s defence attorney, said that his client does not want to appeal the ruling and therefore the man is expected to begin his sentence imminently.
The Ferrari has since been sold to an unnamed buyer.
