Start of trial - Raw silver theft worth millions at Aurubis
A series of thefts with a haul worth around eleven million euros will keep the Hamburg Regional Court busy from Tuesday (1 p.m.). Between February 2020 and January 2021, six men allegedly stole around 5,000 kilos of raw silver residue from copper producer Aurubis and sold it illegally.
The public prosecutor's office is accusing five of the accused of aggravated gang theft or commercial handling of stolen goods and a sixth man of aiding and abetting aggravated gang theft.
According to the indictment, the men stole the intermediate and by-products containing precious metals from the company premises in the Veddel district. They sold the loot to as yet unknown buyers. At least some of the stolen goods are said to have been sent to metal processing companies in Turkey for analysis and further use. The suspects, aged between 33 and 50, used crypto cell phones for internal communication.
The case came to light in mid-June. At that time, the public prosecutor's office had more than 30 properties in five federal states searched. Six men were arrested in the process. The investigations were directed against twelve identified suspects and others not yet known. According to Aurubis, the suspects were individual active and former employees of the Group or employees of external companies who worked on Aurubis' premises.
In June, the officers seized ten vehicles, 20 high-quality watches, more than 200,000 euros in cash, several firearms and ammunition as well as some of the stolen goods in addition to documents and storage media. The public prosecutor's office obtained arrest warrants with a total value of over 20 million euros. An arrest warrant is a court-authorized seizure of property.
Even greater damage was caused by fraud in a case at Aurubis that came to light at the end of August. However, this case is not the subject of the trial that is now beginning.
Notice from the public prosecutor's office dated 30.11. Notice on searches dated 15.06. Aurubis notice dated 15.06. on investigations into gang theft
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- The alleged criminal activities of the gang of thieves resulted in the public prosecutor's office initiating processes related to aggravated gang theft and commercial handling of stolen goods.
- The raw silver theft that took place at Aurubis in Hamburg's Veddel district involved the theft of precious metals from intermediate and by-products, which were then illegally sold.
- The public prosecutor's office accuses six men, between the ages of 33 and 50, of being involved in this criminality, with five of them facing charges of aggravated gang theft or commercial handling of stolen goods, and the sixth accused of aiding and abetting.
- The stolen silver residue, worth around eleven million euros, was allegedly sold to unknown buyers in Hamburg, with some of the loot being sent to metal processing companies in Turkey for further use.
- The processes related to this criminality began at the start of the trial at the Hamburg Regional Court, where the men will stand trial for their alleged involvement in the theft from Aurubis.
Source: www.stern.de
