German court sentences five over museum heist
A German court on Tuesday sentenced five members of a criminal gang to up to six years in prison for snatching priceless 18th-century jewels from a Dresden museum in what local media have dubbed the biggest art heist in modern history. The thieves made away with a haul worth more than 113 million euros (US$123 million) from the Green Vault museum in November 2019. Some, but not all, of the loot was recovered after four of the defendants made confessions in court. The thieves are members of the so-called "Remmo clan", an extended family known for a web of ties to organised crime in Germany. The regional court in the eastern city handed down three sentences ranging from just under to just over six years for armed robbery, aggravated arson and grievous bodily harm. Two of the men, who were minors at the time of the crime, received juvenile sentences of five years, and four years and four months respectively. A sixth defendant was acquitted because he produced a credible alibi – an emergency surgery at a Berlin hospital. The trial, which began in January 2022, shed some light on the spectacular case but left key questions unanswered. Although many of the historic pieces were recovered as part of a plea deal, some are feared lost forever in what prosecutors called an act of "remarkable criminal drive and recklessness" by the thieves. The loot included a sword with a diamond-encrusted hilt and a shoulder piece which contained the famous 49-carat Dresden white diamond. Prosecutor Christian Weber said on the opening day of the trial that the defendants had stolen "unique and irreplaceable treasures... of outstanding cultural and historical significance". Two of the defendants, Wissam and Mohamed Remmo, were already serving time for the daring 2017 theft of a massive gold coin from a Berlin museum. In a statement read in court in January by their lawyer, they said the idea for the Dresden job was hatched after a younger acquaintance "came back from a field trip to the Green Vault... raving about the green diamonds on display there". (AFP)