1From3Defendant Rabie R. Gewoelbe) at the Royal Palace in Dresden in November 2019. Six members of a notorious criminal gang, aged between 22 and 28, are on trial in Germany on January 28 for the spectacular robbery in which 18th-century jewelry was snatched from the State Museum in Dresden. They are accused of mass robbery and arson after the brazen nighttime raid on the Green Vault Museum on November 25, 2019 (Jens Schlueter/Pool via AP)Jens Schleutter/AFPShow moredisplay less2From3Abdul Majeed R. hides his face as he is taken to a courtroom of the Higher Regional Court in Dresden, eastern Germany on January 28, 2022 before the start of a trial over jewelry theft at the Green Vault Museum (Gruenes Gewoelbe) at the Dresden Royal Palace in November 2019. Six members of a gang will stand trial A notorious criminal, aged between 22 and 28, was arrested in Germany on January 28 for the shocking robbery in which 18th-century jewelry was snatched from the State Museum in Dresden. They are accused of mass robbery and arson after the brazen nighttime raid on the Green Vault Museum on November 25, 2019 (Jens Schlueter/Pool via AP)Jens Schleutter/AFPShow moredisplay less3From3
BERLIN (AFP) – Six men went to trial in Germany on Friday over the astonishing theft of 18th-century treasures from Dresden’s Green Vault Museum in 2019.
The defendants, aged between 23 and 28, appeared before a regional court in the eastern German city on charges of mass robbery and arson. The theft allegedly led to the theft of 21 jewelry pieces containing about 4,300 gems worth more than 113 million euros ($126 million).
The German news agency reported that prosecutors said in their opening statement that the men were armed with a pistol and a pistol with a silencer.
The Green Vault is one of the oldest museums in the world. It was founded in 1723 and contains the treasury of the mighty Augustus in Saxony, which holds about 4,000 pieces of gold, precious stones and other items. The stolen jewelry has not been recovered.
Two men on trial in 2020 were convicted of a similar theft, the theft of a 100-kilogram (220 lb) Canadian gold coin dubbed the “Big Maple Leaf” from the Bode Museum in Berlin in 2017.
The coin, valued at 3.75 million euros, has also not been recovered. Authorities suspect it may have been cut into smaller pieces and sold.
