Diamond thieves steal jewellery 'worth up to a BILLION EUROS' from German museum in possibly world's biggest heist after making off with three 'priceless' sets commissioned by 18th century royalty
- The Green Vault in Dresden was targeted by thieves early on Monday morning
- It is believed they shut off an electricity supply and broke in through a window
- Reports in Germany say the treasures stolen may be worth up to a billion euros
Diamond thieves stole three 'priceless' sets of 18th-century jewellery from a German museum in an early-morning raid today.
The
Green Vault in Dresden has suffered an 'immeasurable' loss after
burglars broke into the building in the early hours of this morning,
officials said.
The thieves switched
off a power supply at 5am before breaking through a window into a museum
which once boasted it was 'as secure as Fort Knox', it is believed.
Once
inside, they stole three jewellery ensembles which were commissioned by
Saxony's former ruler Augustus the Strong in an 18th-century show of
power.
Museum experts have said the items are priceless and could never be sold, but Bild reported
that up to a billion euros' worth of treasures may have been stolen -
which would make it the biggest art heist in history.
Two
thieves were seen on CCTV cameras inside the museum but they escaped in
a getaway car and a manhunt has so far proved fruitless.
Stolen: A cabinet of 18th-century
jewellery which was smashed open and looted by burglars at a German
museum today, causing an 'immeasurable' loss
Investigation: A police officer
wearing gloves and a mask works at the crime scene outside Dresden's
royal palace this morning following the break-in
Means of entry? A window at the
side of the building where the thieves - who were said to be noticeably
small - are feared to have forced their way inside
Sealed off: A police officer mans a
cordon outside the Green Vault museum in Dresden, eastern Germany, this
morning following what could be a record art theft
At
a press conference this afternoon, museum director Marion Ackermann
said she was 'shocked' by the 'brutality' of the break-in.
Thieves
smashed into a glass cabinet and made off with three sets of jewellery
which were made for Augustus the Strong, the elector of Saxony in the
18th century, she explained.
Augustus
competed with French monarch Louis XIV to assemble the most extravagant
jewellery, she explained, describing the items stolen as 'state
treasures of the 18th century'.
Augustus,
who was elector of Saxony from 1694 to 1733 and also king of Poland for
much of that time, established Dresden as a cultural centre and founded
the museum which was targeted today.
The material worth of the jewellery was less important than the fact that the jewels had come as a set, Ackermann said.
Asked about the suggested
value of a billion euros (£850million), she said the value of the items
stolen could not be quantified.
'We’re
dealing with priceless artistic and cultural treasures,' she told
reporters in Dresden this afternoon. 'We cannot give a value because it
is impossible to sell.'
Appealing to
the thieves not to destroy the objects or melt them down, she said the
jewellery was of 'inestimable cultural and historical value' and could
never be sold on the open market.
Police
say they were alerted to the break-in at 4.59am and suspect that the
thieves were behind an electrical fire which broke out nearby.
Shutting
off the electricity may have helped the burglars to disable the
museum's alarm systems and also left the area in darkness.
Targeted: Visitors at the Green
Vault in Dresden where thieves are feared to have stolen up to a billion
euros' worth of treasure in an early-morning heist today
A map
showing where the break-in took place this morning and the bridge where
the thieves are believed to have cut off a power supply to help them
gain entry
Forensic investigation: A specialist police officer arrives near Dresden's former royal palace to investigate the theft today
Inquiry: Police officers work
behind a cordon tape at the museum, which was closed to visitors today
after the early-morning break-in
Police tape hangs across a doorway
at the Dresden museum, where thieves broke in after the power supply was
stopped and a fire broke out
In
addition, a burned-out vehicle was discovered nearby and detectives are
now trying to track down the owner to establish whether the fire was
related to the theft.
Reports in Germany say the thieves were 'noticeably small' and able to fit through a tiny space in a window.
At
the press conference, police said that the smashed cabinet had been
made of special safety glass but that it was unclear how the thieves had
broken it.
Detectives are now
examining the video footage on which two people are seen, but others may
have been waiting outside to help them escape in a getaway car.
A getaway car could have been well on its way to the motorway within minutes of leaving the museum, they warned.
State police officers are now at the crime scene as they investigate how the thieves got inside and stole the jewellery.
'We have not identified a perpetrator and nor have we yet made any arrests,' police spokesman Marko Laske said.
A notice on the museum's website this morning states only that the building is closed today for 'organisational reasons'.
Doors closed: A sign at the
entrance of the Green Vault informs visitors that no tickets are
available today following the break-in on Monday morning
Search for evidence: A police
officer scours the steps of the Dresden royal palace for evidence on
Monday morning following a 5am raid on the museum
Search: A German policeman looks
for evidence outside the Dresden royal palace which houses the Green
Vault where thieves staged a break-in this morning
Crime scene: A police van parks outside the historic museum today following a break-in
A view of Dresden's former royal palace today where the collection of treasures is on display
Targeted: Visitors at the Green
Vault in Dresden where thieves are feared to have stolen up to a billion
euros' worth of treasure in an early-morning heist today
'Not only our state collections but we the people of Saxony have been robbed,' said regional premier Michael Kretschmer.
'You
cannot understand the history of our state without the Green Vault. The
treasures found there were made by the hard work of people in our
state.'
The security measures at the museum had appeared to be in order and 'comprehensive', he said.
State interior minister Roland Woeller said it was a 'bitter day for the cultural heritage of Saxony'.
The
thieves 'stole cultural treasures of immeasurable worth - that is not
only the material worth but also the intangible worth to the state of
Saxony, which is impossible to estimate,' he said.
A
€1billion art theft would be comfortably the largest in history,
surpassing the $500million raid on the Gardner Museum in Boston nearly
30 years ago.
Two thieves disguised as
police officers stole 13 works of art from the Boston museum in March
1990 and the crime remains unsolved.
The Dresden museum was founded by in 1723 and houses thousands of items including historic coins and jewellery.
However,
one of its most valuable treasures - a 41-carat naturally green diamond
called the Dresden Green - is currently out on loan in New York.
The
museum did not put a current value on the piece, but said that at the
time of its purchase it cost 400,000 thalers, compared to the 288,000
thalers it cost to build the city's lavish Frauenkirche church at around
the same time.
A police van parks outside the
Green Vault museum in Dresden today following a burglary of items feared
to be worth up to a billion euros (£850million)
Presence: A police officer walks
through the gates of the city palace today in Dresden where authorities
are investigating a massive art theft
Dresden's former royal palace - the
home of the former electors and kings of Saxony in the centuries before
Germany was unified - is seen today
Dresden's Green Vault takes its name from the green-coloured columns and decoration in rooms such as this one
VIP visitors: German chancellor
Angela Merkel hosted then-US president Barack Obama at the Green Vault
in Dresden in 2009 (pictured)
The
museum also houses include a 25-inch figure of a Moor studded with
emeralds and a 648-carat sapphire gifted by Tsar Peter I of Russia at a
meeting in 1698.
Other valuable items
include a jewel-studded sculpture of an Indian royal court, made out of
gold, silver, enamel, precious stones and pearls.
Another is a 1701 golden coffee service by court jeweller Johann Melchior Dinglinger, decorated with lounging cherubs.
In 2010, then-museum director Martin Roth boasted in an interview with Die Welt that the Green Vault was 'as secure as Fort Knox'.
Roth
explained how the vault was protected by 'invisible' security systems,
but warned that the biggest danger was information leaking out from
inside.
The collection dates back to
1723, while the Dresden royal palace which houses it was first built in
1533 as the home for the electors and later kings of Saxony.
The Green Vault gets its name from the green-coloured columns and decoration in some of the rooms.
A police officer kneels down by the steps of the royal palace today as he investigates the break-in at Dresden's Green Vault
Pictured
left: Police officers outside the entrance to the Green Vault this
morning; right: an investigator works at the scene of a cordon
Treasures: Visitors look at the
collection in Dresden's Green Vault which dates back to the 18th century
and contains thousands of items
Precious: Some of the gemstones in the museum's collection are seen in this file picture
The
museum and palace were rebuilt after the devastating Allied bombing of
Dresden in World War II. Some of the items were looted by Soviet troops
in 1945, but later returned.
Only part of the collection was on display during the Cold War, when Dresden was part of communist East Germany.
However,
the museum was extensively rebuilt in the 2000s and its two exhibitions
now form one of the 'best-preserved treasuries in Europe', its website
says.
Angela Merkel hosted then-US President Barack Obama there in 2009 during his early months in office.
In 2017, a 220lb gold coin the size of a manhole cover was stolen from a Berlin museum and is feared to have been melted down.
Prosecutors
allege that the burglars broke into the museum through an upstairs
window and used a ladder, wheelbarrow and rope to extract the coin. A
trial remains underway.
Art Hostage Comments:
The two Dresden Green Vault Museum raiders were called "Artful Dodger" and "Oliver Twist"
Perhaps a couple of children used to get into the small places?
Historically, Criminals from places such a Romania use children in crime because they can get into small places.
Furthermore, the current trial of the Remmo family in Berlin for the theft of the gold coin from the Bode Museum might be linked to this heist.
Will there be a deal offered by the Remmo family, whereby indictments are dropped to recover the Dresden Green Vault diamonds?
Interesting article abut the ongoing trial in Berlin:
https://coinsweekly.com/why-there-is-still-no-verdict-in-the-trial-of-the-stolen-100-kilogram-maple-leaf/
Art Hostage Comments:
The two Dresden Green Vault Museum raiders were called "Artful Dodger" and "Oliver Twist"
Perhaps a couple of children used to get into the small places?
Historically, Criminals from places such a Romania use children in crime because they can get into small places.
Furthermore, the current trial of the Remmo family in Berlin for the theft of the gold coin from the Bode Museum might be linked to this heist.
Will there be a deal offered by the Remmo family, whereby indictments are dropped to recover the Dresden Green Vault diamonds?
Interesting article abut the ongoing trial in Berlin:
https://coinsweekly.com/why-there-is-still-no-verdict-in-the-trial-of-the-stolen-100-kilogram-maple-leaf/
No comments:
Post a Comment