The main defendant in the case was not present during the trial for medical reasons, but the remaining defendants were in court on Tuesday.
The burglars targeted hotels, restaurants, cafes, businesses, and private homes over the course of four years. The two biggest burglaries took place in March and April 2014.
The first of these two burglaries saw the defendants come away with €46,000, $2,000 and jewellery stolen from a hotel in the Central station neighbourhood. The other burglary targeted a home in Syren: the burglars stole bags, bank cards, and a wallet.
The police estimated that the total financial damage resulting from the series of burglaries lay at the €170,000 mark, in addition to the $2,000 stolen. As well as the money stolen by the defendants, the police also counted material damage involving the theft of a large number of cigarettes and chèque-repas vouchers.
The court president remarked that the 88 counts of break-ins reasonably meant that there were others, to which an investigator explained that the unofficial number of burglaries is likely much higher than 88.
The police have been investigating the series of burglaries since February 2016 and have been able to find the same DNA at every burglary site since the beginning. After the first break-in, police officers found DNA traces at the site but were unable to find any matches.
In September 2016, a further burglary at the bar of a football club in eastern Luxembourg furthered the police investigation. The absent defendant was caught in the act, and admitted to having two accomplices. On this occasion, police officers were able to seize a vehicle which had caught their attention on several occasions.
The police continued their investigation, using phone tapping by the end of 2016 and beginning of 2017. The case did not see any further developments until the summer of 2017.
After two break-ins in Luxembourg City which saw one person arrested, the absent defendant was monitored by the police. Another break-in in November 2017 in Ettelbruck, in which the thieves stole a 250 kg chest, saw three of the defendants arrested. The investigator described the group as an organised burglary ring whose composition changed depending on which members were in prison at the time.
The trial continues on Wednesday.
