Prosecutors believe accomplices at museum may have been involved in theft

Four security guards employed at Dresden’s Royal Palace are under investigation over their alleged involvement in a huge theft of 18th-century jewellery, according to German prosecutors.

Investigators have long suspected that the heist, the biggest since the second world war, was carried out with accomplices working inside the museum. According to prosecutors, the suspects include two security guards who were on duty in the early hours of the morning on 25 November, when the theft took place. Investigators say they did not “react adequately” when it became clear there had been a break in, and did nothing to prevent the theft.

Prosecutors believe that two other security guards may have helped the thieves. They believe that one, who was arrested on 29 November, may have passed on information about the layout of the rooms in the Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault), as well as information regarding the museum’s security system.

A fourth security guard whose flat has been searched by police is suspected by prosecutors of meddling with the alarm system.

Jürgen Schmidt, the chief prosecutor, told the Bild newspaper: “The suspects have behaved cooperatively and initially said they wanted to speak to investigators, but subsequently they reserved their right to silence.”

Seven people are believed to have been involved in the robbery.

The Green Vault holds one of Europe’s largest collections of art treasures. The items taken included three sets of diamonds, which were said by the museum’s directors to be of “immeasurable worth”. Some experts have estimated them to be valued at around €1bn. If they were broken up, they would still probably fetch around €100m-€200m. The director of Dresden’s state art collections, Marion Ackermann, urged the thieves not to break the collections into pieces, saying “the material value doesn’t reflect the historic meaning”.

The robbery took place after a fire broke out at an electrical distribution point, deactivating the museum’s electricity supply and its alarm system.

Play Video 0:32 Dresden jewellery heist: moment thieves break open display cabinet captured on CCTV – video

A surveillance camera filmed two men breaking into the Green Vault by smashing a window, cutting through a metal grate and smashing a display cabinet. A burning car found in a carpark is believed to have been used as a getaway vehicle.

The Green Vault consists of 10 rooms containing around 3,000 items of jewellery and other masterpieces. The building was heavily damaged during the second world war, but has since been successfully restored, reopening to huge acclaim in 2006.

Michael Kretschmer, the leader of Saxony, of which Dresden is the capital, said at the time of the theft that “not only has the gallery been robbed, but also the Saxonian people”.

The theft was the second high-profile heist in Germany in recent years, after a 100kg, 24-carat gold coin was stolen from Berlin’s Bode Museum in 2017.