Five men from a Berlin family were sentenced to prison yesterday for committing a spectacular theft of priceless Baroque jewels from the historic Green Vault in Dresden three and a half years ago.
The men, all under the age of 30, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from four years and four months to six years and three months for dangerous bodily harm, arson, armed robbery and property damage. A sixth suspect, who had an alibi, was not convicted, according to reports in German media, including German news agency DPA.
All of the convicts are members of the Remmo family, known for its involvement in serious crimes. Two of the men on trial had previously been convicted of stealing a giant gold coin from Berlin’s Bode Museum in an equally brazen heist two years before the Dresden robbery.
On November 25, 2019, the men smashed a display case that housed three sets of royal jewelry made of diamonds and pearls that belonged to Saxon Elector Augustus the Strong and his family. They had previously plunged the entire street into darkness with an arson attack on an electricity distribution point. They triggered a fire extinguisher to erase their tracks.
By the time the police arrived, five minutes after guards spotted the intruders on CCTV and alerted them, the burglars were gone. Their escapade was carefully prepared: an Audi A6 was found burning in an underground garage, where they had parked a second vehicle. The arson attack on the garage also damaged several other cars and endangered the life of a woman.
A year after the robbery, police raided several residences and other premises in Berlin and arrested three of the thieves. The other suspects were captured in later operations. Late last year, the accused men returned some of the loot and agreed to confess to the crime in return for capped sentences in a court-brokered deal.
Among the jewelry returned – some slightly damaged – included a brilliant-cut diamond breast star, a rose-cut diamond epaulette, shoe buckles, skirt buttons, hat ornaments, and a rapier. Items still missing include a brilliant cut diamond necklace worn by Queen Amalie Auguste, a white diamond epaulette and various smaller pieces. The total initial loss was estimated at around €113m (£98m).
The Land of Saxony also filed a civil suit against the thieves for damages of almost 89 million euros.
