A gang member behind a EUR 113 million jewellery heist in Germany has told a court that he got the idea for the break-in from a school trip.
Mohammed Remmo – the youngest of four defendants – said he dreamed up the burglary after a pal visited the Green Vault museum in Dresden with his class.
Remmo is one of four members of the family gang who have agreed to plead guilty for reduced sentences.
His confession – read out by his lawyer at a hearing on 17th January – said: “The burglary was my idea.”
He added: “An acquaintance who was on a school trip sent me a photo of the Green Diamond and said: ‘It looks really awesome!'”
Members from his entourage then scouted out the Green Vault, but the Green Diamond was deemed too secure to try stealing it.
His confession continued: “My idea was dropped. The Green Diamond would be too secure, the jewels in the historic vault would be difficult to sell.”
But when he found out that the heist was about to take place he was fuirious.
He said: “I was angry, I insisted on being there, but I was only a henchman.”
The gang fled with a fortune in rare gems and gold jewellery in what has been dubbed the biggest heist in history at Dresden’s Royal Palace.
Co-defendant Wissam Remmo (correct) , 26, told how in the days leading up to the break in, the gang used metal cutting tools to sever steel bars on a museum window,
He said: “We had borrowed the devices. Cutting through a prison bar took only seconds. We played music to drown out the noise.
“The grille that was removed was reinserted. We covered the joints with masking tape and painted them black.
In the days leading up to the burglary, we checked several times whether the camouflage was still intact.”
Two other gang members – Abdul Majed, 23, and Ahmed Remmo, 24 – have also confessed and two others are still reportedly on the run.
The defendants could still face up to 15 years in prison.
The burglary at the Green Vault museum in Dresden, Germany, netted a EUR-113-million (GBP-100-million) haul of fabulous gems, including a 63-carat white diamond.
Six gang members accused of taking part in their heist, which saw some 4,300 items stolen, are currently on trial.
CCTV security footage shows one gang member breaking the glass on a display cabinet with a brutal double-handed axe attack.
The brutal raid to stage one of the most valuable jewellery heists in history left some of the treasures shattered and broken with GBP 22 million in damage caused, the court previously heard.
Some items are said to have sustained severe damage from improper storage and botched cleaning attempts.
The revelations came after police retrieved a “considerable part” of the loot.
Wissam Remmo told the court: “It is clear to me that the loot has not only material but also ideal value.
“I am very sorry that parts that cannot be replaced are gone.”
The trial is ongoing.
