A court date has been scheduled for the six German nationals implicated in the daring Green Vault Museum heist, where more than 100 pieces of ‘priceless’ jewellery – including diamonds, pearls and rubies from Dresden Castle in Saxony – were stolen in November 2019.
The State Court of Dresden had scheduled the hearings to commence on 28 January against the suspects, aged 22 to 28, on charges of organised robbery and arson, as reported by the German DPA news agency.
State prosecutors against the suspects filed the charges in September last year.Â
On 25 November 2019, thieves forced their way into Dresden’s Gruenes Gewoelbe, or Green Vault Museum, making off with more than 100 pieces of historic jewellery and precious stones including the 49-carat Dresden White Diamond.
To date, none of the stolen pieces have been recovered, which were estimated to be valued at €1 billion ($AUD1.56 billion).
The suspects reportedly set fire to a nearby electricity junction box to cut power to the museum before staging the break-in. Despite the arrests, none of the suspects claimed responsibility for the crime.
Considered one of Europe’s greatest treasures, The Green Vault was built in 1723 and is believed to be one of the oldest museums in the world.
Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and later King of Poland, assembled the museum’s artefacts during the 18th Century.
One of the Green Vault’s most famous pieces, the 41-carat Dresden Green Diamond, was on loan to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art when the break-in occurred and narrowly missed being stolen.Â
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STOLEN & UNRECOVERED
Zwischenzeitlich hat die Polizeidirektion #Dresden auch Bilder zu einem Teil der gestohlenen Schmuckstücke aus dem Museum #GrünesGewölbe veröffentlicht: https://t.co/b6a1Lcx1EY pic.twitter.com/jpwrseePuD
— Polizei Sachsen (@PolizeiSachsen) November 25, 2019
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WATCH HEIST
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BACKGROUND: SUSPECTS ARRESTED in 2020
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