“The Green Vault Heist: Details Revealed as Remmo Clan Confesses to Jewel Theft”

The process of breaking into the Green Vault has revealed many details. The members of the Remmo clan were apparently inspired by a school trip.

It was supposed to be a quickie, but in the end the object of desire wasn’t as easy to turn into money as we thought. It is still unknown who initiated and planned the spectacular break-in into the historic Green Vault in Dresden. But it is now certain that the jewel theft three and a half years ago is the responsibility of the Berlin Remmo clan. Five members of the well-known extended family of Arab origin have confessed to a Dresden criminal court that they were involved in it or in the preparation and told how the coup went. And most of the stolen jewelry is back – but the case is far from solved.

The burglary of the Treasury Museum was one of the most spectacular art thefts in Germany and also made international headlines. Three brothers and their cousins ​​between the ages of 24 and 29, who were caught in raids in Berlin until the summer of 2021, have to answer for serious gang theft, arson and particularly serious arson. Five of them are in custody, a 25-year-old is still serving his youth sentence for stealing the gold coin from the Bode Museum in Berlin in 2017.

At the beginning of 2023, a so-called deal brought about a turning point in the trial at the Dresden Regional Court, which is taking place in a special hearing room under considerable security precautions. Until then, the accused had remained silent on the matter. In December 2022, the defense promised that the loot would be handed over. Shortly before Christmas, however, only 18 of the 21 stolen pieces of jewelery were found, some damaged and incomplete, on the table of a law firm in West Berlin.

Four of the accused agreed to the agreement between the public prosecutor’s office, the defense and the court, which was concluded in early January, and committed themselves to “credible confessions” and questioning – in return for reduced sentences. What they told in court adds up to a cinematic scenario.

In the beginning there was a cell phone photo of the “Dresden Greens”, taken during a friend’s school trip to the Green Vault, which one of the two youngest defendants had received. However, after visiting the New Green Vault on the first floor of the palace, the idea was rejected as too difficult. The reconstructed jewel room on the ground floor, however, seemed more accessible, especially since a supervisor assured one of the defendants that “the stones are real” and showed him the display case with the “most expensive”.

The burglary was prepared for months, cars, license plates, mobile phones procured. Before they struck, teams drove several times from Berlin to Dresden at night, tested the security systems at the Residenzschloss and, using hydraulic rescue shears like the ones used by the fire brigade, cut a piece out of the historical grille in front of the window to the museum that the façade scanner couldn’t because of a canopy could capture. Then they put it back in place with tape. To their amazement, nothing happened, although the cutting “was very loud” and they jumped around in front of the facade.

In the early morning of November 25, 2019, the cars raced south again from the federal capital – six of them. A 26-year-old first set fire to a power distribution box using petrol in saucepans to turn off the lights and alarm in the castle – but only the street lamps went out.

The main act was then a matter of minutes: At 4:56 a.m., the oldest accused, aged 29, and a person who had not previously been charged entered the museum, used an ax to punch holes in the display case with the most magnificent valuables and tore out whatever they could get their hands on. After less than five minutes, they were out again with the valuable jewelry made of diamonds and brilliants with a total value of over 113 million euros.

A few kilometers away, they switched to another car after setting their car on fire in an apartment building’s underground garage to cover their tracks. For some it was “a real adventure, a kind of test of courage”, while others wanted their faded image as a celebrated “master thief” back. The break in the gold coin process came at just the right time for him. Five defendants expressed remorse in their last word and apologized for the crime. A 25-year-old has an alibi that could not be shaken: emergency treatment in a Berlin clinic.