Burglary in Berlin
49 million euro coup – A defendant wants to testify
A key witness wants to testify after the million-euro coup. photo
© Paul Zinken/dpa
The perpetrators are equipped with keys. They loot 295 lockers in the vault and escape with luxury watches, jewelry and precious metals. Five men are now on trial.
The 52-year-old businessman at the time sat behind safety glass alone and as far away as possible from the four suspected accomplices. He was the managing director of the company that rented the vault. The 52-year-old is said to have taken part in the crime because of alleged debts to two of the defendants from previous money laundering transactions. In the trial for theft in a particularly serious case and arson, he is now considered a kind of “key witness”. He is the only one of the defendants who wants to testify.
On the other side of the hall are four men who belong to the clan milieu. They are 42, 42, 26 and 28 years old. Three of them are said to have planned the crime and prepared it in the background. The other defendant, the 28-year-old, is said to have then looted the lockers with initially unknown accomplices.
About the procedure for the crime
When the burglars stood in front of the door of the safe facility on Fasanenstrasse on November 19th last year, they were well equipped: the managing director is said to have given them transponders, keys and access codes beforehand. He had also recently terminated the previous security service for the facility and replaced it with a security service from the alleged accomplices and deactivated the alarm system, according to the prosecution.
According to the investigation, at 7:13 a.m. several perpetrators began prying open lockers. Pictures from a surveillance camera show: They dragged bags of loot from the former private bank to a van and took it away from the crime scene in several loads until 7:34 p.m. In order to cover up their tracks, they doused papers and inventory in the locker system with gasoline and set them on fire, according to the indictment.
According to the indictment, 996 watches with a total value of more than 14 million euros as well as cash, jewelry, precious metals and securities worth around 35 million euros were stolen. The loot has disappeared to this day, said public prosecutor Alexander Kiworr on the sidelines of the trial. He considers four of the defendants to be members of the clan milieu. An additional eleven named suspects are still being investigated.
The term clan crime is controversial because, according to critics, it stigmatizes and discriminates against people with a migrant background based solely on their family affiliation and origin.
Investigations lead to raids
The investigation into the break-in led to raids in Berlin and Baden-Württemberg last May. According to information at the time, a total of 30 apartments and companies were searched. The background was initially independent proceedings – in Berlin because of the burglary, in Karlsruhe because of money laundering. There was a suspicion that the loot from the burglary was intended to be “laundered” by a dummy company in Baden-Württemberg.
Two of the defendants were arrested in May and two other defendants were arrested in June and July. The ex-managing director, however, is free and is reportedly in the witness protection program. His testimony in the trial is scheduled for November 6th.