Prison sentences for five thieves in the spectacular heist of jewels in the royal palace in Dresden

On Tuesday, the court in Dresden sentenced five young men to prison terms as perpetrators jewel heist conducted in 2019 in Green vault, treasure chamber the royal palace in the capital of Saxony, which meant one of the most spectacular robberies in German history.

Vor der Urteilsverkündung im Prozess #juwelendiebstahl in #Dresden @skdmuseum habe ich für den @epdOst @epd_vijest #MarionAckermann suffer:
Kunstsammlungen Dresden warten auf Freigabe der gestohlenen Juwelen https://t.co/ntuqjfvISr via @dnn_online

—Katharina Rögner (@RenaKirchner52) May 15, 2023

The accused, all of them brothers and cousins ​​in their twenties from the Remo gangfamily clan of Lebanese origin based in Berlin, received sentences ranging from four years and four months to six years and three months for kidnapping 21 jewels with more than 4300 diamonds and brilliants in the value of 116.8 million euros and caused material damage of more than one million euros. The sixth accused was found not guilty because he had an alibi at the time of the event.

The sentences were reduced after an agreement between the accused and the Prosecutor’s Office handling this case. After keeping silent for three years since the robbery, the five defendants did it extensive recognition, they expressed repentance and returned most of the loot December, although some parts are damaged. It is assumed that the unrecovered jewelry was dismantled and sold on the black market after the theft. However, some of the diamonds are so famous that they can hardly be resold legally.

The robbery of the treasury of the kings of Saxony on November 25, 2019 is considered one of the most spectacular in Germany. The Green Vault contains the largest and most valuable collection of royal jewels in Europe. Thieves entered the building through a window after breaking the electrical switchboard in the old part of the city that fed the palace’s alarms. In addition to destroying display cases and causing other significant damage to the infrastructure, they deliberately set fire to the vehicle they were using in the underground garage while fleeing, which should have caused an accident that the firefighters were able to avoid with quick action.

The province of Saxony also sued the defendants for damages and asked for it to be over 89 million euros for jewels returned damaged, pieces that were not found and for the repairs that needed to be done in the Royal Palace after the robbery. The prosecution emphasized that the convicts acted with “distinct criminal energy and without any consideration” in order to get their prey. All of the defendants were arrested in several police raids in Berlin, according to an investigation that revealed who was involved.

One of the defendants is already serving a sentence for the theft in March 2017 of a huge 100-kilogram gold coin from the Bode Museum in Berlin. large maple leaf with the image of the British Queen Elizabeth II 3.75 million euros. Two members of the same Lebanese family were convicted in February 2020 of stealing the said currency, which was never returned. Given its purity, authorities assume it was cut into pieces or melted down to sell the gold by weight.