A German court convicted five men over their involvement in a daring museum heist in Dresden, Germany where they broke into the museum and stole 21 pieces of jewelry, which included over 4,300 diamonds, valued at $129 million.
The convicted men, aged between 24 and 29, received prison sentences ranging from four years and four months to six years and three months, except for one defendant who was acquitted. The court determined that the group was responsible for the theft of 18th-century jewelry, including a large diamond brooch and a diamond epaulet during a museum heist in November 2019.
During the trial, it was revealed that the men had started a fire before the break-in to disable the street lights outside the museum. Before fleeing to Berlin, they also set fire to a car in a nearby garage. However, several months later, they were apprehended during raids in the German capital.
The court charged the men with aggravated arson, serious bodily injury, theft with weapons, damage to property, and intentional arson. The judges noted the significant criminal intent of the accused, stating that their aim was to “get rich.”
While most of the stolen jewels were returned as part of a plea bargain reached in January, some of the most valuable pieces, which included large diamonds, remain missing. The defense, prosecution, and court reached an agreement after four defendants admitted their involvement in the crime. The fifth defendant confessed to assisting in procuring objects used in the heist.
Addressing the defendants directly, Presiding Judge Andreas Ziegel emphasized, “There are things in your life that are worth living a different life for. It’s your choice what you do with your life.”
Green Vault Museum
The Green Vault Museum, established in 1723, is one of the world’s oldest museums and houses the treasury of Augustus the Strong of Saxony.
The collection consists of around 4,000 objects made of gold, precious stones, and other materials. Unfortunately, the theft and subsequent damage have caused irreparable loss to the museum’s collection of complete jewelry sets.
The state of Saxony, where Dresden is located, has claimed damages of almost 89 million euros to cover the cost of the damaged items, the missing jewelry, and repairs to the destroyed display cases and the museum building.