Admin I Tuesday, August 22, 2023
DRESDEN – Charges have been brought against another suspect for his role in stealing jewels from the Green Vault in Dresden’s Royal Palace museum, the public prosecutor’s office in Dresden said on Tuesday.
The theft is considered one of the most spectacular burglaries in the country’s history.
The 23-year-old is a relative of the five men convicted in May at the Dresden Regional Court, the public prosecutor’s office said. He is charged with aiding and abetting theft, damaging property and arson.
At dawn on November 25, 2019, two thieves broke into Dresden’s Royal Palace museum via a window and smashed a display case with an axe. Within minutes they had made off with treasures dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries worth a total of €116.8 million ($127 million).
The thieves looted 21 pieces of opulent jewellery stored at the palace, which is one of the oldest buildings in Dresden and home to one of Europe’s largest collections of treasures.
The assailants caused more than $1 million worth of damage when they set fire to an electricity distribution box in Dresden’s Old Town and to a getaway car in the underground car park of a residential building to cover their tracks.
Five young men were sentenced to prison in May for the crime. The verdict is not yet legally binding.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the 23-year-old is not yet in custody. Since the accused was a teenager at the time of the offence, the charges have been brought before the Dresden Juvenile Court.
