Six men are said to have attacked older wealthy people in their homes in North Rhine-Westphalia with great brutality.
Since Friday, the defendants between the ages of 31 and 56 have been standing in front of the Cologne district court, among other things, for serious robbery.
The public prosecutor assumes that they committed five robberies between December 2016 and the end of 2019 in Cologne, Weilerswist, Frechen, Bochum and Brühl.
Cologne - In total, the gang is said to have stolen around 700,000 euros.
According to the indictment, one of the suspects disguised as a parcel delivery man rang the doorbell of the later victims.
"When these opened, other accused stormed into the house, tied up the injured party, taped their mouths shut and asked them - mostly with a gun - to hand over (...) keys or numeric codes for the safe," added the public prosecutor.
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Among other things, the gang is said to have forced an 86-year-old woman in Cologne at gunpoint to hand over the code for her safe.
In this attack in November 2017 alone, the alleged perpetrators are said to have stolen cash and jewelry totaling 600,000 euros.
The defendants did not want to comment on the allegations on the first day of the trial.
A verdict in the process could come in January 2022.
dpa
