Spectacular Dresden jewel theft: Security guards simply let the perpetrators flee

Created: 03/08/2022, 17:17

The trial of the Dresden jewel theft continued on Tuesday.

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Sebastian Kahnert

The trial of the jewel theft from the Green Vault continued on Tuesday.

According to witnesses, security guards should not have stopped the perpetrators.

Dresden – The trial of the theft of jewels from the Green Vault in Dresden continued on Tuesday with hearings of witnesses.

According to testimonies, the security guards present at the time did not prevent the perpetrators from escaping.

The security staff would have wanted to avoid being recognized by the perpetrators.

That's why they hid from them, according to a police officer at the hearing at the Dresden district court: "They hadn't actively acted to stop them because they were afraid."

Dresden jewel theft: perpetrators were able to escape unhindered

The 31-year-old police chief was the first at the crime scene on November 25, 2019, together with a colleague.

They initially wanted to get information about the getaway vehicle in order to catch the perpetrators.

A security guard shot a video of their departure, which unfortunately was too short.

It was not possible to determine in which direction the getaway vehicle was turning.

The car was only dimly visible on the video.

Dresden: The process of stealing jewels continues with hearings of witnesses

On the third day of the trial, two witnesses who were on their way to work on the day of the burglary and passed the Green Vault were questioned in the morning.

A 35-year-old woman - a security officer at the Semperoper - stated that she saw two men and a car with an open trunk at the scene of the crime.

The men spoke to each other in a foreign language - she suspected an Eastern European language.

Since the trunk was illuminated, she was able to see it despite the darkness.

Jewel thieves were not stopped by security guards

A second witness, who works at the entrance to the Saxon state parliament, had observed, among other things, two men at the Schinkelwache opposite the Green Vault.

By this time, however, the jewel thieves are said to have left the crime scene.

She was a little scared because the entire street wasn't lit, she recalled.

That's why she panicked when she saw the two men.

However, these would then have gone in the opposite direction, according to the lady.

Dresden jewel theft: Six men are on trial

Six men between the ages of 23 and 28 are on trial in the case.

The Germans come from a well-known Arab family in Berlin and are accused of aggravated gang theft, arson and particularly aggravated arson.

They are said to have stolen 21 pieces of jewelry with a total of 4,300 diamonds and brilliants with a total value of over 113 million euros from the treasury and also left property damage of over one million euros in the course of the spectacular coup.

They were caught in several raids in Berlin.

Green Vault jewel theft: DNA traces led to the suspects

According to the words of the presiding judge Andreas Ziegel, the chamber now wants to deal quickly with how the public prosecutor's office came across the accused in their investigations.

At its core, it is about DNA traces and traces that mantrailers (sniffer dogs) found.

The court also wants to hear a chemist as an expert who should provide information on the extent to which sniffer dogs can perceive odor molecules even after a long period of time.

On March 22, the court wants to interrogate Michael John, head of construction, technology and security at the Dresden State Art Collections.

(dpa)