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Law and Justice

Dresden Green Vault heist: Police make key arrest

Kai Dambach
December 15, 2020

Authorities have detained one of the twin brothers wanted in connection with the 2019 theft of priceless jewelry from a famous Dresden museum.

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Police detain a suspect
German police arrested three suspects in November this year and launched an international manhunt for two brothersImage: Robert Michael/dpa-Zentralbilddpa/picture alliance

German police on Monday detained another suspect linked to last year's heist in Dresden's Green Vault museum.

A spokesperson for the Dresden police said the 21-year-old was arrested in Berlin.

An international manhunt for his twin brother is still underway.

Violent clan involved

Three further suspects were arrested last month in relation to the heist. Investigators said they were members of the Remmo Clan in Berlin's criminal underworld.

The Berliner Morgenpost said the three suspects were in pre-trial detention in Dresden and have not provided any information so far.

Two other members of the family are also under investigation. The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) said though that there was no urgent suspicion of involvement in the crime.

The clan has also been blamed for other major crimes, including a gold coin theft from Berlin's Bode museum in 2017.

Items stolen from the Green Vault in Dresden
Thieves stole three priceless sets of 18th-century jewelry within minutes in 2019

Priceless items gone

Priceless artifacts were stolen by two people who burst into the museum through a barred window and smashed a display case with an axe, taking diamonds and other jewels. They then drove nearly 200 kilometers (124 miles) north to Berlin, according to the Dresden prosecutor's spokesman.

Some of the items are considered priceless. The Dresden White Diamond and the Polish Order of the White Eagle were among more than two dozen stolen items. They have not been recovered.

Interpol has become involved in the investigation at the request of the German authorities.

dpa contributed to this report