The theft of the 100 kilo gold coinknown as the “Big Maple Leaf”, is one of the most surprising stories of modern crime. The coin was stolen in March 2017 from Bode Museum in BerlinGermany, and had an estimated value of almost $4 million at the time, although its value as a historical and collector’s item made it even more valuable.
The “Big Maple Leaf” is a 100 kilo pure gold coinissued by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2007. It has a diameter of 53 cm and a thickness of 3 cm. The coin features the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II on one side and a maple leaf, symbol of Canada, on the other. Only six examples of this were made, the rest of the coins are in the hands of private collectors and museums.
The “Big Maple Leaf” is not only valuable for its amount of gold, but it is also a piece extremely important in the world of numismatics. It represents a milestone in the history of coins of high face value and purity, and was able to generate interest in both the precious metals markets and coin collections.
How was the theft of the 100 kilo gold coin
The robbery occurred on March 27, 2017 in the early morning hours. The thieves managed to enter the Bode Museum, located on one of the islands in the Spree River in Berlin, using a ladder to access a window. Then, they headed towards the room where the coin was displayed. They used tools to break the display case and remove the gold coin.
To transport the currency, which weighed 100 kilosthe thieves apparently used a makeshift wheelbarrow to move it inside the museum. According to investigations, they took the coin to the nearest train tracks, where they would have used a service cart to transport it further. Finally, they disappeared with the currency, which is believed to have been melted down to sell the gold in smaller pieces, making its recovery almost impossible.
Despite the arrests, the coin was never recovered . Authorities believe the thieves melted it down and sold it in parts, since trying to sell it as a complete object would have attracted too much attention. Being pure gold, it is likely that the metal has been sold on the black market.
What happened to the criminals
After extensive research, in July 2017police arrested several suspects. Among those arrested were four men some of them members of a well-known criminal family in Berlin with links to organized crime. Wayci and Ahmed Remmo, 24 and 20 years old, respectively, and their cousin Wissam Remmo, 22, and the fourth was Denis, the museum’s guard.
The trial of the suspects began in January 2019. The defendants belonged to one of Berlin’s most notorious organized crime clans. The prosecution accused them of stealing the coin, destroying its display case, and then melting it down to sell the gold on the black market.
During the process, there were several complications. Although authorities had strong circumstantial evidence, such as security camera footage and DNA traces, they had no direct evidence of the coin, which was never recovered. Furthermore, the defendants denied responsibility and reportedly did not cooperate during investigations.
Currently all the accused are free, but they are aware that there is a possibility that they will be sentenced in the coming months; which can be up to 10 years deprived of his freedom.
Source: Ambito
I am a 24-year-old writer and journalist who has been working in the news industry for the past two years. I write primarily about market news, so if you’re looking for insights into what’s going on in the stock market or economic indicators, you’ve come to the right place. I also dabble in writing articles on lifestyle trends and pop culture news.
