The Prague Post - Trial opens in spectacular German museum jewel heist

EUR -
AED 4.189602
AFN 81.560006
ALL 99.353919
AMD 445.224794
ANG 2.055756
AOA 1046.537798
ARS 1327.340457
AUD 1.779739
AWG 2.053144
AZN 1.943609
BAM 1.964386
BBD 2.302997
BDT 138.581814
BGN 1.962225
BHD 0.429887
BIF 3344.34388
BMD 1.140636
BND 1.499181
BOB 7.881554
BRL 6.490678
BSD 1.140601
BTN 97.364861
BWP 15.721927
BYN 3.732434
BYR 22356.459768
BZD 2.291145
CAD 1.583944
CDF 3281.609329
CHF 0.944604
CLF 0.02779
CLP 1066.437801
CNY 8.312616
CNH 8.313905
COP 4816.84754
CRC 577.331098
CUC 1.140636
CUP 30.226846
CVE 110.988296
CZK 25.06901
DJF 202.714226
DKK 7.493069
DOP 67.354986
DZD 151.009947
EGP 57.875053
ERN 17.109536
ETB 149.541759
FJD 2.575499
FKP 0.857377
GBP 0.856783
GEL 3.125787
GGP 0.857377
GHS 17.463578
GIP 0.857377
GMD 82.126176
GNF 9872.20241
GTQ 8.784513
GYD 238.628271
HKD 8.850364
HNL 29.432779
HRK 7.562762
HTG 148.937533
HUF 407.150356
IDR 19167.242344
ILS 4.133698
IMP 0.857377
INR 97.393009
IQD 1494.23277
IRR 48020.763476
ISK 145.830715
JEP 0.857377
JMD 180.509002
JOD 0.808829
JPY 163.88088
KES 147.716659
KGS 99.749031
KHR 4580.793381
KMF 493.329269
KPW 1026.535763
KRW 1640.656613
KWD 0.34989
KYD 0.950467
KZT 587.314868
LAK 24666.247464
LBP 102056.350249
LKR 341.767381
LRD 228.12011
LSL 21.301416
LTL 3.368001
LVL 0.68996
LYD 6.233619
MAD 10.556628
MDL 19.686307
MGA 5147.122891
MKD 61.712769
MMK 2394.758567
MNT 4046.626623
MOP 9.112952
MRU 45.146793
MUR 51.705448
MVR 17.577628
MWK 1977.788233
MXN 22.246332
MYR 4.989185
MZN 73.001078
NAD 21.307505
NGN 1834.963897
NIO 41.97402
NOK 11.905276
NPR 155.781235
NZD 1.911894
OMR 0.438634
PAB 1.140601
PEN 4.185567
PGK 4.62304
PHP 64.098067
PKR 320.462028
PLN 4.287935
PYG 9123.518833
QAR 4.153098
RON 4.998954
RSD 117.985019
RUB 93.836944
RWF 1615.140155
SAR 4.278454
SBD 9.529227
SCR 16.196656
SDG 684.955932
SEK 11.046035
SGD 1.498914
SHP 0.896361
SLE 25.896613
SLL 23918.541841
SOS 651.877481
SRD 42.067829
STD 23608.856107
SVC 9.979225
SYP 14830.325119
SZL 21.307496
THB 38.223123
TJS 12.067511
TMT 4.003631
TND 3.417388
TOP 2.671487
TRY 43.825281
TTD 7.747968
TWD 37.128876
TZS 3068.310422
UAH 47.700133
UGX 4181.110623
USD 1.140636
UYU 47.616671
UZS 14771.232728
VES 95.028551
VND 29681.051932
VUV 138.467195
WST 3.173044
XAF 658.85127
XAG 0.034473
XAU 0.000344
XCD 3.082625
XDR 0.820068
XOF 656.439948
XPF 119.331742
YER 279.573907
ZAR 21.316822
ZMK 10267.094176
ZMW 31.850638
ZWL 367.284231
  • RBGPF

    60.8800

    60.88

    +100%

  • JRI

    0.1400

    12.74

    +1.1%

  • NGG

    -0.2200

    72.04

    -0.31%

  • RELX

    0.3800

    53.55

    +0.71%

  • BCE

    -0.3600

    21.65

    -1.66%

  • BCC

    -0.5800

    95.51

    -0.61%

  • CMSC

    0.0000

    22.33

    -0%

  • GSK

    -0.0700

    37.43

    -0.19%

  • SCS

    -0.0600

    9.89

    -0.61%

  • RYCEF

    0.0100

    10.16

    +0.1%

  • VOD

    0.0400

    9.35

    +0.43%

  • CMSD

    0.0100

    22.46

    +0.04%

  • AZN

    0.0200

    69.57

    +0.03%

  • RIO

    -1.1300

    60.56

    -1.87%

  • BTI

    -0.4000

    42.05

    -0.95%

  • BP

    0.1900

    29.19

    +0.65%

Trial opens in spectacular German museum jewel heist
Trial opens in spectacular German museum jewel heist

Trial opens in spectacular German museum jewel heist

German prosecutors on Friday accused six young members of a notorious criminal family of carrying out a "purposefully prepared" heist on a state museum in Dresden, as a trial opened over the spectacular robbery of priceless 18th-century jewels.

Text size:

The suspects, aged 22 to 28, are accused of gang robbery and arson after the brazen night raid on the Green Vault museum in Dresden's Royal Palace on November 25, 2019.

To this day, there is no trace of the jewels, including a sword with a diamond-encrusted hilt and a shoulderpiece which contains the famous 49-carat Dresden white diamond.

Reading the indictment in court, prosecutor Christian Weber said the suspects had stolen "unique and irreplaceable treasures... of outstanding cultural and historical significance".

One of the suspects covered his face with a grey hooded sweater, while others hid behind files and folders.

The robbers took just eight minutes to pilfer the treasures, causing a power cut before breaking in through a window with which they had previously tampered.

Two men armed with an axe stole the jewels before fleeing in a car, which they torched in an underground car park.

The thieves grabbed 21 pieces of jewellery and other valuables from the collection of the Saxon ruler August the Strong, encrusted with more than 4,300 individual diamonds.

- Operation Epaulette -

Insurance experts say the loot is worth at least 113.8 million euros ($128 million), with German media dubbing it the biggest art heist in modern history.

However, the director of Dresden's state art collection, Marion Ackermann, had refused to put a value on the stolen items, calling them "priceless".

The stunt also caused around a million euros' worth of damage to the museum and car park.

Police combed through CCTV footage to identify the suspects, who are all members of the so-called "Remmo clan", an extended family notorious for ties to organised crime in Germany.

The investigation was codenamed "Epaulette" after the glittering shoulderpiece.

Three of the suspects were arrested after 1,600 police raided 18 Berlin properties in November 2020.

Another two -- twin brothers named by police as Mohammed and Abdul Majed Remmo -- were on the run for several months, but were caught in December 2020 and May 2021 respectively.

A final suspect was arrested last summer.

- Gold coin -

The Remmos were previously implicated in another stunning museum robbery in the heart of Berlin in 2017, when a 100-kilogramme (220-pound) gold coin was stolen.

Two of the suspects on trial for the Dresden heist are still serving out juvenile sentences for involvement in the theft of the gold coin -- which has also never been found.

The "Big Maple Leaf", considered the world's second-largest gold coin after the one-tonne Australian Kangaroo, was snatched from Berlin's prestigious Bode Museum.

Investigators in 2020 targeted the Remmo family with the seizure of 77 properties worth a total of 9.3 million euros, charging that they were purchased with the proceeds of various crimes, including a 2014 bank robbery.

The Dresden trial, which is expected to run until October, is being heard in a juvenile court because two of the suspects were minors at the time of the crime.

In addition to the six main suspects, four other men are being investigated on suspicion of aiding and abetting by scoping out the crime scene the previous day.

Founded by Augustus, Elector of Saxony, in 1723, the Green Vault is one of Europe's oldest museums.

After the Royal Palace suffered severe damage in World War Two, the museum remained closed for decades before it was restored and reopened in 2006.

Experts have warned that the chances of recovering the stolen jewels are slim, with the precious stones likely re-cut in the time that has lapsed since the crime.

Z.Pavlik--TPP