6 on trial in Germany for spectacular royal jewellery heist

The trial of six men charged with the spectacular 2019 theft of antique jewellery from a vault in Dresden Castle began in the eastern German city on Friday, reported dpa.

The men, aged between 22 and 28, are being tried in a juvenile court, as two of them were legal minors at the time of the heist, which was carried out on November 25 two years ago.

Two people entered the building through a window they had broken and then smashed a display case in the so-called Green Vault with an axe before making off with items dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries.

The stolen jewellery has never been found.

The accused face charges of organized robbery and arson in relation to the theft, in which 21 items containing a total of 4,300 diamonds and other gemstones valued at more than 113 million euros (128 million dollars) were stolen.

Damage to the castle was put at a million euros.

Prosecutors opened their case on Friday by saying that the two who broke in were armed with a pistol with a silencer and a revolver at the time of the heist.

They had scoped the premises several times and had already taken apart a section of cast-iron guttering in order to be able to break in more easily later, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors believe that the break-in was organized by Berlin's Remmo Clan, an extended family also believed by police to be responsible for the theft of a gold coin weighing 100 kilograms from Berlin's Bode Museum in 2017.

The coin has likewise never been recovered and is believed to have been cut up.

The evidence due to be submitted at the Dresden trial by the prosecution include DNA traces from cars and the crime scene, videos, digital data and witness statements.

A special commission named "Epaulette," named after one of the looted pieces, continues its investigation.

According to the commission's report, there are reasonable initial suspicions against a further 40 suspects, including four security guards and four possible others who helped the perpetrators.

The general director of the Dresden State Art Collections (SKD), Marion Ackermann, has said that the stolen jewellery from the Green Vault cannot be resold.

"The pieces have been made known worldwide", and are unsaleable, she told the radio station Bayern 2 on Friday.