The $1 billion Royal Palace Green Vault (Gruenes Gewoelbe) heist in Dresden is increasingly looking like an inside job – and the thieves are still at large.
German prosecutors are investigating four security guards for their alleged roles in the theft, which today stands as one of the largest European jewelry heists in recent history.
The theft took place on the morning of November 25, 2019, when two intruders broke into the museum through a small window. Once inside, they smashed the glass cases to steal the jewelry, and then took off in a getaway car. The loot has been estimated to be worth as much as $1 billion.
See also: The Top 10 Stolen Paintings
According to investigators, the two security guards on duty did not “react adequately” in failing to prevent the theft. Additionally, another two security guards who were not on duty that evening may have helped the thieves: prosecutors are claiming that one guard, who was arrested on November 29, had passed on information about the museum’s layout and security system to the perpetrators. It is now believed that seven people carried out the theft.
See also: Three Old Master Paintings Stolen from an Oxford Gallery
Authorities have searched the apartment of the fourth security guard, whom the prosecutors suspect may have fiddled with the alarm system – on the night of the robbery, a fire broke out at an electrical distribution point that deactivated the museum’s electricity and its alarm system.
The police have released the above sketch, which depicts one of the suspects they believe was involved in the robbery. This person is said to have purchased a getaway car, of which the police have discovered to be a 2006 Audi S6. The was purchased in August 2019 by an unknown person of about 25 years of age from a private seller in Magdeburg. The burnt out car was found in a parking lot not far from the museum.
See also: Small Pennsylvania Museum Discovers a Rembrandt in its Collection
Authorities are offering a €500,000 reward for the treasures, which included three sets of diamonds and other precious jewels, the majority of which date to between 1782 and 1789 and were acquired by Augustus the Strong and Augustus III. Since November, police have received 1,300 tips from the public. Last month, there were reports that the jewels were circulating on the dark web.
