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Dresden, Germany – On Tuesday, a German court will issue verdicts in the trial of six members of a criminal gang accused of stealing priceless 18th-century jewels from a Dresden museum.
In November 2019, thieves stole more than 113 million euros ($123 million) from the Green Vault museum in what the German media dubbed the largest art heist in modern history.
The court proceedings, which began in January 2022, have shed some light on the spectacular case, with three of the defendants confessing to participating in the daring nighttime raid before the regional court in the eastern city.
Although many of the historic pieces were recovered as part of a plea deal, some are believed to have been lost forever in what prosecutors described as the thieves’ “remarkable criminal drive and recklessness.”
A sword with a diamond-encrusted hilt and a shoulder piece containing the famous 49-carat Dresden white diamond were among the loot.
According to Prosecutor Christian Weber, the defendants stole “unique and irreplaceable treasures… of outstanding cultural and historical significance” on the first day of the trial.
The accused are members of the so-called “Remmo clan,” an extended family with ties to German organized crime.
Wissam and Mohamed Remmo, two of the accused, were already in prison for the daring 2017 theft of a massive gold coin from a Berlin museum.
In a statement read in court in January, they said the idea for the Dresden job came after a younger acquaintance “came back from a field trip to the Green Vault… raving about the green diamonds on display there.”
The defendants, aged 24 to 29, are accused of breaking into the museum through previously damaged window bars, smashing a display case with an axe, and stealing 21 pieces encrusted with 4,300 jewels in less than five minutes.
The robbers managed to flee in a getaway car, which they later set ablaze in a parking garage.
For months after the crime, German authorities believed the haul had been permanently lost, as detectives scoured Europe’s shadowy stolen goods markets for signs of the Saxon royal artifacts.
That is, until December 2022, when authorities announced that they had recovered a “considerable portion” of the items after “exploratory talks” with the suspects.
Many of the items, however, were severely damaged, and some are still missing, including a brooch belonging to Queen Amalie Auguste of Saxony.
Last winter, police divers searched a Berlin canal for the missing pieces, but all they found were tools used in the break-in.
Four of the defendants confessed in January, resulting in a plea bargain for reduced sentences. A fifth said he stole tools to break into the building but denied taking part in the heist itself.
Prosecutors are seeking prison sentences of up to six years and eight months for three of the accused, as well as juvenile sentences of up to six years for two additional defendants who were minors at the time of the crime.
A sixth is likely to be acquitted because he provided a credible alibi: emergency surgery at a Berlin hospital.
The other five defendants’ attorneys have asked for more leniency, citing their clients’ contributions to recovering much of the loot. However, they have been chastised for failing to identify their accomplices.
Around 40 people are still wanted for their involvement in the heist.
The trial exposed serious security flaws at the state institution. Its director, Marius Winzeler, has stated that he is “optimistic” that the remaining missing pieces will be returned to Dresden one day, despite the fact that they “cannot be legally sold.”
The Green Vault, founded in 1723 by Augustus, Elector of Saxony, is one of Europe’s oldest museums.
After the Royal Palace was severely damaged during WWII, the museum was closed for decades before being restored and reopened as a major tourist attraction in 2006.
