Jewel heist: German police receive 516 tips

Investigators looking into the jewel heist last week at Germany’s Green Vault museum have received 516 tips from the public so far, police and prosecution officials said on Tuesday.

A portal set up by the police received 160 tips, while an appeal broadcast Sunday on a television show about unresolved crimes generated further information.

But there still are no concrete suspicions against any person in particular, according to lead prosecutor Klaus Roevekamp and police head Joerg Kubiessa.

New tips could, however, require a quick reaction by investigators and so “sudden executive measures such as raids and interrogations are possible at any time,” they said.

Police officials and prosecutors on Monday re-enacted the burglary – exactly one week after the spectacular theft, during which around two dozen historic items studded with precious stones were stolen.

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The Green Vault houses one of Europe’s oldest and best-preserved collection of treasures.

At the same early-morning time as the perpetrators, investigators made their way through the external security measures to reach the barred window that the thieves used to gain access to the museum.

Procedures in the security centre were checked during the re-enacted burglary, as were technical processes.

After breaking through the window on November 25, two unidentified suspects used an axe to knock three holes into display cases in the jewel room. The jewellery sets that were targeted contained around 100 pieces overall.

The thieves sprayed the items they did not manage to take along with fire-extinguisher powder to destroy any evidence.

The affected jewels can be restored, a spokesman for the Dresden State Art Collections said on Tuesday.

“According to the current assessment, the remaining pieces can be cleaned without residue,” the spokesman told DPA. “The restorers are currently dealing with that.”

The museum has remained closed since the heist.

An interim solution is being worked on for the area that contains the destroyed display cases, according to the Dresden State Art Collections.

“We want to make the Historic Green Vault accessible to the public again as soon as possible,” the spokesman said.

The facility’s security concept is being reviewed together with the Saxony state building authorities and the police.

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