A GANG of tiny thieves have pulled off the biggest heist in history by stealing €1billion worth of precious gems from a museum in Germany.

The pint-sized pilferers broke in to Dresden’s Green Vault museum early yesterday via a 1ft gap in a little window.

18 CCTV footage showed one of the men break the glass

18 A Billion Euros worth of treasure has been stolen from a museum in Germany Credit: EPA

18 A policeman checks for evidence outside the Green Vault city palace, in Dresden Credit: Reuters

18 An epee of the Diamond Rose set was among the stolen luxury items from the Green Vault Credit: AP:Associated Press

Security sources told Germany’s Bild paper they are believed to be “noticeably small” to fit through.

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.

18 CCTV footage showed the moment one of the thieves broke down the glass

18 The window the thieves broke in through

18 Up to £850 million is thought to have been taken Credit: EPA

18 An Aigrette for hair in the form of a crescent moon was stolen from the Green Vault Credit: AP:Associated Press

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)

Audi 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 an Audi A6 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.”

What will happen to the jewels? NOW the thieves have made off with their record breaking score, the big question is how they plan to rake in their €1 billion pay cheque. Jewel expert and 77Diamonds.com managing director Tobias Kormind says: "This is a jewellery theft of historic proportions. “Since the pieces are set within famous statues and art works, it will be impossible to sell them - they are too easy to identify as stolen. “To extract value from the stolen goods will require a sophisticated chain of people and so the chances are relatively high that a stone will be traced. “Most likely the thieves will break up the works and remove the stones and recut them individually, which destroys a lot of the value. “The white diamonds can easily be recut and become untraceable. “The same for the coloured gemstones - if thieves are able to remove a lot of the recognisable inclusions even while it will still be possible to tell which mine or country they come from, the Emeralds and Sapphires won't be traced to the original stone and could be sold. “That is, unless the thieves can find an oligarch who is willing to pay a price for the privilege of hiding the pieces for years in the deepest recesses of a private vault while just showing them to his or her closest, most trusted circle. “If the thieves are smart and are not caught in the next few days, the chances decrease dramatically that the goods can ever be recovered. “But the thieves need to cover their tracks very carefully. “If even one stone is traced, then the chain may quickly link back and some portion of the goods will be recovered."

18 The thieves were described as 'noticeably small' by witnesses Credit: EPA

18 An investigation is underway in the city to catch the crooks Credit: Reuters

18 A hat clasp of the Diamond Rose was among the stolen items Credit: AP:Associated Press

18 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 Credit: EPA

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.

What was in the vault? THE Gruenes Gewoelbe was founded by Augustus the Strong, an 18th-century elector of Saxony, and contains the largest collection of treasures in Europe. The museum pieces include a 25-inch figure of a Moor studded with emeralds and a 648-carat sapphire given as a gift by Tsar Peter I of Russia at a meeting in 1698. Other valuable items include a jewel-studded sculpture of an Indian royal court, fashioned from gold, silver, enamel, precious stones and pearls. Another is a 1701 golden coffee service by court jeweller Johann Melchior Dinglinger, decorated with cherubs. But, one of its most valuable treasures - a 41-carat naturally green diamond called the Dresden Green - is currently out on loan in New York. The museum did not put a current value on the gem, but said that at the time of its purchase it cost 400,000 thalers (a historic German currency). For context it cost 288,000 thalers to build the city's lavish Frauenkirche church during the same time period.

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18 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. Credit: EPA

18 In 2010, then-museum director Martin Roth boasted in an interview with Die Welt that the Green Vault was 'as secure as Fort Knox' Credit: EPA

18 Forensic officers are at the scene Credit: AFP

18 An Epaulette of the Diamond Rose set was also stolen Credit: AP:Associated Press

18 State officials said the thieves had stolen 'cultural treasures of immeasurable worth' as police examined the crime scene today. Credit: AP:Associated Press

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.

Few of them have ever been caught since they first struck in 1984 and even fewer give away any details about the members of the gang that remain on the loose.

They are renowned for their use of elaborate ruses to get near their target.

The gang rarely uses violence and have been known to dress up as golfers and police