LONDON (AFP).- A Buckingham Palace kitchen assistant has been jailed for eight months after admitting stealing medals, official photos and other items, and selling some on eBay, police said.

Adamo Canto, 37, was sentenced in court on Monday after pleading guilty to three counts of theft between November 2019 and August 2020, the Metropolitan Police said.

Police said they recovered a "significant quantity" of stolen items when they searched his staff quarters in Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth's London residence, where he had worked as a catering assistant since 2015.

The goods were worth up to £100,000 ($136,000, 111,000 euros) in total, and some were listed for sale on the eBay auction site for a small fraction of their worth, prosecutor Simon Maughan said.

They included two prestigious medals, and a photo album showing images from the queen's state banquet for US President Donald Trump when he visited Britain in June 2019.

Canto, who was reportedly desperate for money to pay off debts, was also said to have stolen a limited edition pocket watch and a Samsung mobile phone specially made for Prince Andrew, the queen's second son.


© Agence France-Presse