In Dresden, Germany, five men have been found guilty of a daring jewel robbery.

2019 saw the theft of priceless objects from the city’s state museum, valued at €113 million (£98 million).

Many of the gems, including a sword coated in diamonds, were located by the police, but it’s possible that the rest of the seized treasure will never be discovered.

The guys, who are all members of a well-known criminal family network, could receive terms ranging from four to six years.

This theft was well thought out. The group, which was based in Berlin, made multiple trips to the location and set up their access point beforehand by sawing through the bars of a security window covering using a hydraulic cutting machine before taping the bars back in place.

Then, in the wee hours of November 25, 2019, they set fire to a circuit breaker box close to the museum, turning off the lights in the neighborhood as two of the guys snuck inside.

As they broke the glass display cases to gain access to the riches, the robbers were seen on CCTV footage wearing masks and brandishing axes as they entered the lavishly adorned Gruenes Gewoelbe, also known as the Green Vault.

The robbers then used a foam fire extinguisher to hide their traces before fleeing the scene in an Audi that they had abandoned in a parking lot and set on fire before driving back to Berlin.

Police made their first arrests following an investigation that lasted a year. The “Remmo clan” is made up of everyone who was found guilty today. There are a number of “clans” in Germany; family networks with Arab roots that are in charge of large organized crime, including recent robberies of a bank and a raid on a department store.

One of the burglars from Dresden was earlier found guilty of stealing a massive gold coin from Berlin’s Bode museum in 2017 that weighed 100kg (15st 10lb). The currency is thought to have been broken up or melted down because it was never found.

“There are people who steal artworks out of passion for art, but this was really the opposite,” claims Prof. Marion Ackermann, general director of Dresden’s State Art Collections. They were unaware of the items they had taken.

At first, there were worries that the treasure, like the golden coin, would always be lost.

But after three of the men confessed to the theft and promised to reveal the location of the plunder in exchange for shorter terms as part of a deal with prosecutors, many of the stolen pieces were eventually given back to the museum.

Nevertheless, a number of pieces are still missing, including the White Stone of Saxony, a very rare diamond.

The artifacts were part of a cache amassed in the 18th century by Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony. with addition to collecting artifacts coated with diamonds and valuable stones, he also created the Green Vault to house them.

According to Prof. Ackermann, the loss of a portion of the collection was especially sad because Augustus believed that a visitor should view the entire ensemble at once and be astounded by the variety of colors and stones.

The art world was astounded by the heist’s daring. However, the intrusion also made people wonder whether the security procedures in place at the museum were adequate.

Even one of the robbers expressed surprise during the trial that despite the noise made by their cutting tools, they had managed to saw through window bars ostensibly undetected.

Prof. Ackermann stated that the security system at the museum was one of the best in Germany and emphasized that responsibility for it was shared by Dresden’s State Art Collection and another regional organization.

But “many aspects come together in a security system,” she continued. the structure, the structure’s organization, and technical features. Additionally, every link in a chain needs to be functional, and in this case, many things didn’t.

According to her, a technology intended to scan the museum’s outside walls had malfunctioned, and guards stationed in the central security room who could see what was happening on their monitors were hesitant to alert the police.

On the grounds that they may have assisted with the preparations and responded slowly to the actual break-in, four museum security guards were the subject of a police inquiry, but those inquiries were closed last year.

The security system has been updated today, and the museum team is now focusing on cleaning the gems.

Experts are hopeful that Augustus’ gem can be restored to its original splendor and eventually put back on display for the public.

However, curators are content to lose the remaining treasure and acknowledge that it is doubtful the collection will ever be whole again.

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