Robbers take 18th-century jewels from German museum
BERLIN (AFP) — Police in Germany were Tuesday hunting robbers who snatched priceless 18th-century jewelry from a state museum in Dresden in what local media have called the biggest art heist in modern history.
Authorities across eastern Germany have been put on alert after thieves made off with treasures from Green Vault at Dresden’s Royal Palace in an astonishing smash-andgrab raid early Monday morning.
Police called on witnesses to step forward and released images of the stolen items, which were taken from a collection of jewelry of 18thcentury Saxony ruler Augustus the Strong and which experts say may never be recovered.
Founded by Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony in 1723, the Green Vault is one of the oldest museums in Europe.
The images included a sword whose hilt was encrusted with nine large and 770 smaller diamonds, and a diamond bow decorated with 662 brilliants.
Yet museum directors announced that the losses had been less dramatic than initially feared.
“There are more items left over than we thought. It is a good thing it was dark, because that meant a lot of the works were overlooked,” said Marion Ackermann, director of Dresden’s state art collections.
The thieves launched their brazen raid after having set off a fire in an electrical panel near the museum in the early hours of Monday, plunging nearby streets into darkness.
Despite the power cut, the suspects were caught on CCTV footage later released by police.
In the black-and-white clip, one of the two suspects was seen using an axe to smash the display case.
The thieves then fled in an Audi A6 and remain on the run.
The getaway car was then set on fire at a nearby garage shortly after the robbery, police confirmed.
Chief investigator Olaf Richter said Tuesday evening that it had been a “targeted and prepared crime.”
On Monday evening, Dresden police chief Joerg Kubiessa told broadcaster ZDF that a “criminal gang” may be behind the robbery.