November 25, 2019
MINUTE BY MINUTE: How Dresden Green Vault raiders carried out the ‘world’s biggest-ever heist’ stealing €1 billion jewels
by Guy Birchall
TheSun.co.uk
A GANG of thieves have pulled off the biggest heist in history by stealing €1 billion worth of jewels from a museum in Germany.
The Gruenes Gewoelbe (Green Vault) in Dresden, was targeted by robbers that broke into the building in the early hours of this morning.
A Billion Euros worth of treasure has been stolen from a museum in Germany
A policeman checks for evidence outside the Green Vault city palace, in Dresden
The museum has already issued a plea for the thieves not to destroy or melt down the priceless historical artefacts saying they are of "inestimable cultural and historical value".
Here's the break down how the crooks pulled off what is thought to be comfortably the largest heist in history, smashing the previous record $500million raid on the Gardner Museum in Boston nearly 30 years ago.
Though the police investigation into the audacious theft has only just begun, some aspects on how the burglars pulled it off have come to light.
Cut the power
At around 4am GMT the villains cut off a power supply by starting a small fire at a distribution box on a nearby bridge.
The blaze knocked out the electricity and shut down the museum's alarm system allowing them to gain entry without alerting the authorities.
Questions are sure to be asked about how this was possible as the vault had previously been described as "secure as Fort Knox".
Busting the bars
After disarming the security system with the fire the gang then dismantled iron bars on the window of the building to allow them to get in.
The perpetrators dismantled a grille on the side of the building forged out of wrought iron rods that had been anchored to the building in the 1890s.
They then clambered through the window.
After they gained entry, they then replaced the grille so as not to arouse suspicion.
The window the thieves broke in through
Up to £850 million is thought to have been taken
Tiny thieves
Security sources say the thieves were very small in stature to have been able to fit through the tiny gap they managed to make.
CCTV also showed the diminutive bandits inside the building.
Official sources have described the perpetrators as "conspicuously small".
Smile for the camera
A pair of the vertically challenged crooks were spotted on CCTV inside the museum.
Officers from local and state police are combing through the footage for anything that could identify the burglars who pulled off the audacious job.
Smash and grab
The gang then smashed open the show cases inside the vault using what authorities believe to be either a sledgehammer or an axe.
After shattering the glass they wrenched out three sets of diamonds with an estimated value of around €1 billion (£850million)
Luxury getaway
Having pinched the pricey jewels, the thieves then made their way back out of the museum through the same tiny window.
Once out in the open air they headed to an underground shaft that runs underneath the Sophienstrasse in front of the building.
From there they hopped into a black limousine to complete their daring getaway.
They remain on the run and police are yet to confirm all of the items that were taken.
Saxony police said in a statement this morning that 'unknown' thieves had broken inside the museum but said further details were not yet available.
State police officers are now at the crime scene as they investigate how the thieves gained entry.
A burned-out vehicle was discovered nearby and detectives are now trying to track down the owner to establish whether the fire was related to the theft.
A notice on the museum's website this morning states only that the building is closed today for “organisational reasons”.
Regional premier Michael Kretschmer said: “Not only our state collections but we the people of Saxony have been robbed.
“You cannot understand the history of our state without the Green Vault and the state collections of Saxony.”
The thieves were described as 'noticeably small' by witnesses
An investigation is underway in the city to catch the crooks
The robbers made their getaway in a saloon car and remain on the run but it is hoped that CCTV may have captured them on video despite the electrical outage
Two thieves disguised as police officers stole 13 works of art from the Boston museum in March 1990 and the crime remains unsolved.
In 2010, then-museum director Martin Roth boasted in an interview with Die Welt that the Green Vault was 'as secure as Fort Knox'.
The collection dates back to 1723, while the Dresden royal palace which houses it was first built in 1533.
The Green Vault gets its name from the green-coloured columns and decoration in some of the rooms.
The Dresden museum was founded by Augustus the Strong, an 18th-century elector of Saxony, and houses thousands of items including historic coins and jewellery.
In 2010, then-museum director Martin Roth boasted in an interview with Die Welt that the Green Vault was 'as secure as Fort Knox'.
Forensic officers are at the scene
State officials said the thieves had stolen 'cultural treasures of immeasurable worth' as police examined the crime scene today.
This latest heist calls to mind the notorious Pink Panther gang who are behind several of Europe's most daring heists.
Hailing from Eastern Europe, the network of criminals has stolen more than £280million during highly-planned jobs for more than 30 years.
The crime syndicate is made up of around 200 criminals who made their name hiding a giant diamond in a pot of skin cream during an audacious 2003 raid in London.
Made up mostly of Serbians and Montenegrins, the gang has struck all around the world - including cities such as Cannes, Singapore, Dubai and Tokyo.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10417712/dresden-green-vault-heist-news/
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