What Criminal Superintendent André B. and his colleagues have found out about the theft of the 100-kilogram gold coin "Big Maple Leaf" is a clear picture for him: Ahmed Remmo, 20, Wayci Remmo, 24, and Wissam Remmo, 22, With the help of Denis W., 20, on the night of March 27, 2017, they stole the exhibit worth about € 3.75 million from the Bode Museum in Berlin.
In front of the Berlin district court, the 44-year-old senior investigator has now reported how the police came on the trail of the three members of the police-known Remmo extended family and the museum keeper Denis W.
The clues of a colleague brought the investigators on Denis W. The policeman had arrested the young man as well as an accomplice a few weeks before the coin theft after a tank fraud. Their car had previously prepared the two with stolen license plate. In the car were screwdrivers and nylon gloves - "typical burglary tool," says André B. in the witness stand. Well, Judge Dorothee Prüfer relativizes, maybe it just served to unscrew the license plates.
The investigator further reports that during the arrest several calls on the phone by Denis W. were received - by Ahmed Remmo. A family name that made the policemen sit up. In the car of Denis W. was also a flyer of the Bode Museum.
"The phone was not talked about concrete"
According to André B., the investigation revealed that Denis W. had worked as a security guard in the museum since the beginning of March 2017. He had a locker in the locker room of the museum, through whose windows the thieves had come in and out. Denis W. is said to have been alone in the room the day before the crime. Supposedly to spend his break there. From the perspective of the investigators, he may have prepared the act during this time.
Several V-men are said to have given evidence that different members of the family Remmo could have to do with the spectacular coin theft. A person from the family is said to have bought a car for about 40,000 euros after the fact. Wissam and Wayci Remmo reportedly tried to sell gold to various traders.
REUTERS
One of five "Big Maple Leaf" coins worldwide (Photo from 2010)
Defender Toralf Nöding speaks of only "blanket" clues, Judge Prüfer agrees with him. The subsequent searches and telephone monitoring were indeed also "very widely spread," she says. Several members of the Remmo family were overheard.
The telephone monitoring had no relation to coin theft result. "The telephone was not talked about specifically," says André B. in court. In general, little had been phoned. He suspects that communication was via messenger services. In July, police searched about 30 objects, including cars and homes. They found 150,000 euros in cash and five sharp weapons.
Further evidence is videos of the surveillance cameras from the S-Bahn station Hackescher Markt, which is located near the Bode Museum. On March 17, at night, when there are no trains left, two suspicious persons disappear and disappear towards the museum. It is the night when a railroad worker notices a wheelbarrow. With the wheelbarrow, the perpetrators are said to have carried away the 100-kilo coin on the tracks later. On March 21, the cameras record three men. That night, a safety glass breaks in front of the window of the locker room. On March 27, the Tattag, again three suspects can be seen.
Googled for machines that melt gold
Investigator André B. says in the witness box that he had the feeling that one of the men could be Denis W. And a colleague said that she recognized Wissam and Ahmed Remmo. A quilted jacket belonging to Wissam Remmo matches the clothing of one of the recorded men. In the jacket pockets they found gold particles. "And then the circle closed," says André B.
The gold traces are the strongest indicator. The coin is made of "special gold," says the witness. It has a purity of 99.999 percent. Such pure gold is otherwise used only in the space industry. Traces in Wissam Remmo's jacket matched the gold coin.
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Even a cell phone makes Wissam Remmo suspicious. Investigators found it next to a couch he usually slept on. On the phone, an app for gold price calculation was installed. And the mobile phone user had been googling machines that melted gold.
Wissam Remmo's defender Michael Martens, however, alerts the witness to another find on his mobile phone. Accordingly, the mobile phone was not logged in the crime scene at the time of the crime, but in another, not mentioned, place.
That had also noticed the investigator - but only one day before his testimony in court. The stored time may not be the actual time, he says. He will do the research and deliver it. The judge asks.