The Berlin police are conducting a large-scale operation to search for those involved in the theft of a gold coin weighing about 100 kg from the Bode Museum. Spiegel writes about this on Wednesday, December 16.
The exhibit was stolen back in March 2017. The Big Maple Leaf coin with a diameter of 53 cm and a weight of 100 kg was made of solid gold and featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. The coin was estimated at that time at € 3.75 million. According to the investigation, the kidnappers sold it in parts.
The police are conducting searches at 14 sites, as well as checking several jewelry stores in the Neukölln area. The operation involved 120 law enforcement officers.
One suspect was reportedly detained. One of the investigators suggested in an interview with the publication that the chances of finding the remains of the coin are estimated as 50-50.
On December 14, Berlin police detained one of the suspects in the case of the theft of exhibits from the Green Vault Museum in Dresden in November 2019, 21-year-old Mohammed Remmo.
The theft took place in November 2019. The intruders sawed through the window bars on the first floor, smashed glass and stole jewelry from the showcase. In total, three sets with decorations of the 18th century (94 items) were stolen from the treasury. One was inlaid with diamonds, the other two with diamonds.
According to media reports, the value of the stolen jewelry could be € 1 billion. Experts believe that the robbery was ordered.