Emmanuel Thomas, DPA, Friday, May 19, 2023
BERLIN – Seven defendants in a spectacular million-euro theft, involving drilling through a wall to reach a vault at a German customs office, go on trial on Friday in Poland.
They face sentences of up to 15 years in prison, the Polish state prosecutor’s office announced in mid-April.
According to the investigations, three perpetrators broke into the office in Emmerich on the Lower Rhine. The office was not guarded, as it was the All Saints’ Day holiday in 2020 at the time of the break-in.
They drilled through a wall in the basement with a professional core drill and cracked the office’s safe, prosecutors allege. Almost €6.5 million ($7.1 million) in loot disappeared without a trace. A fourth man is said to have been the lookout during the burglary.
Co-defendants include an alleged tipster, who according to the indictment was himself a customs employee, as well as a Polish woman who is said to have acted mainly as a go-between.
The burglary quickly triggered speculation about a “leak” at the customs authorities. In fact, the investigation showed that the suspected customs employee probably provided the others with the safe’s plans.
“This knowledge was necessary to plan and prepare the burglary,” the Polish investigators said.
In May 2022, four suspects were arrested in Görlitz, near the Polish border, including the German customs officer, who is also a Polish citizen. Some four weeks later three more arrests followed.
The arrests were as spectacular as the crime. In a video published by Polish police, heavily armed special forces can be seen sawing open a door, detonating stun grenades and storming a suspicious flat. One suspect was filmed wearing only pants and lying on the floor.
During the raid, police uncovered large amounts of cash – possibly from the loot of the burglary.
