German police have recovered most of the jewelry stolen in the 2019 $120 million heist of a historic Dresden art collection. The pieces stolen from one of Europe’s largest art collections reportedly contained more than 4,300 diamonds.
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The update comes amid the trial of six suspects in the overnight raid on the Green Vault Museum at the Royal Palace in the eastern city of Dresden. The suspects prosecuted in the raid are said to be members of the so-called “Remmo clan”, an extended family known for a network of ties to organized crime in Germany.
The theft was linked to a collection created in 1723 by Saxony’s ruler Augustus the Strong, the BBC reported.
How did the police recover the old jewelry?
“Exploratory talks” between the suspects’ lawyers and the prosecution toward a possible deal and the return of the stolen items led to a breakthrough, police and prosecutors said. On initial inspection, investigators found that several pieces appeared to be intact, including the hat decoration and the Polish Order of the White Eagle star from the stolen diamond set.
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The objects were transferred to Dresden under the protection of special police forces, where they will be examined by a coroner and then by specialists from the Dresden State Art Collections to verify their authenticity.
Similar incidents of robbery
The Dresden incident was one of several robberies carried out at German museums in recent years. In November, thieves broke into a Bavarian museum and made off with nearly 500 ancient gold coins worth several million euros.
In 2020, a Berlin court convicted three men of stealing a 100-kilogram (220-pound) gold coin valued at $4 million from a museum in the center of the German capital.
German authorities believe that the robbery was well planned and carried out in a professional manner. Before breaking into the museum, the thieves set fire to a circuit breaker panel, plunging the streets around the museum into darkness, the BBC reported.
(With AFP, Bloomberg entries)
