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The stolen items included the chest star of the Order of the Polish White Eagle, a jewel-encrusted sword, and an ornate headdress encrusted with 4,300 diamonds. Authorities fear some items may never be recovered.
All five, all in their 20s, were sentenced to four to six years in prison on Tuesday. The Dresden District Court found them guilty of “especially serious arson” combining dangerous bodily harm, theft with a weapon, property damage, and “intentional arson” to cover up a criminal offence. got down. A sixth defendant and his family were acquitted after providing an alibi.
In January, the defense, prosecutors and the court agreed to a plea bargain after most of the gems were returned at the end of 2022. Two of the five defendants have already completed their sentences for stealing a large sum of gold coins from Berlin’s Bode Museum in 2017, and another is already serving time. A daring robbery that shook the museum world. No coins were recovered.
Closed-circuit television footage released the day after the daring robbery showed how the museum and the surrounding area plunged into darkness after the robbers set a circuit breaker near the museum on fire.
They then entered the building through a window. Prosecutors said the men had damaged the window grilles prior to the robbery and then reinstalled the window grilles for quicker access.
Within five minutes, they destroyed the display with an ax and took twenty-one objects encrusted with thousands of jewels, leaving them in their getaway car. The vehicle was then set on fire in an underground parking lot.
Dozens are still wanted in connection with the carefully planned robbery. Authorities say about 40 people are believed to have been involved.
Barbara Klebsch, regional culture minister of the state of Saxony, of which Dresden is the capital, said Tuesday she was grateful that investigators were able to secure most of the stolen jewelry.
“Some of our Treasury wounds have re-closed and the perpetrators have been legally convicted,” she said.
He also said security measures had been adjusted as a result of the robbery, revealing security flaws at one of Europe’s oldest museums.
The eastern state of Saxony claimed around €89 million in damages for stolen goods and damages from encroachment.
The stolen jewels are part of a collection amassed by Elector Augustus the Strong of Saxony in the 18th century. In 1723 Augustus opened the Green Vault in Dresden to display his treasury. The museum in Dresden’s Royal Palace remained closed for decades after being severely damaged during World War II. It was restored and reopened in 2006.
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