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The defendants and their lawyers in the courtroom before the start of the trial in December 2023
Photo: Georg Wendt / dpa
Four of the six defendants in the trial of extensive raw silver thefts at Hamburg-based copper manufacturer Aurubis have made confessions before the regional court. Essentially, these had referred to the accusations of the prosecution, as a court spokesman said on Monday. Previously, the media had reported.
As the »Hamburger Abendblatt« reported, the main defendant also made a confession. » Our client admits his involvement in the events at Aurubis," the paper quoted one of his defense attorneys as saying. The defendant had organized and coordinated the collection of the so-called raw silver sweeps and had managed the sale of the loot to buyers from Turkey. However, he had to share the proceeds. In addition, the man was not the inventor of the theft system at Aurubis and only joined in 2020.
Between February 2020 and January 2021, the six defendants are said to have transported intermediate and by-products from the Aurubis company premises in the Veddel district. According to the indictment, the stolen material is said to have contained around 5000 kilos of silver and gold worth a total of eleven million euros. They are said to have sold the loot to previously unknown buyers. A large part of the stolen goods had been sent to metalworking companies in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul for analysis and further use, it said.
The indictment accuses four men aged 34 to 49 of aggravated gang theft or commercial receiving of stolen goods, and two other defendants aged 33 and 50 of aiding and abetting aggravated gang theft. Twelve offences are at stake. Some of the defendants are said to have worked for Aurubis or external companies that were active on the factory premises.
Parallel to the trial against the gang of thieves, investigations are underway at Aurubis in another case of copper theft. The loss of 185 euros was discovered in September during an inventory. In December, the Supervisory Board hired a lawyer to review its own Executive Board.
kfr/dpa