German authorities have apprehend suspects involved in the museum heist of several 18th century jewels valued at nearly $1.2 billion.
Three members of a known crime syndicate were arrested but authorities still haven't recovered the stolen gems.
Around 1,600 federal special forces, agents and police were involved in the raid on several locations believed to be the hiding place of the suspects.
According to initial statements from authorities, the three arrested were German citizens believed to be involved in the robbery of the Dresden Museum last year. They entered and stole several uninsured gems from a vault within Dresden's Royal Palace, including a jewel that once belonged to the Saxon ruler called August the Strong.
The museum director Marion Ackermann did not place a value on the stolen items and only told reporters that they were "priceless." Experts later estimated that the stolen gems would be worth at least $1.2 billion in the open market.
German authorities had placed a $593,000 reward for any information that would lead to the stolen gems or to the arrest of the robbers. It is still not clear if the reward had anything to do with Tuesday's raid.
One of the well known items in the museum, the 41-carat Dresden "Green Diamond," was out on loan at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The three arrested were believed to be tied to the "Remmo Clan." The group, also known as the "Lebanese Mafia," was also linked to the theft of a 220-pound coin called the "Big Maple Leaf" in Berlin. Authorities were able to recover the coin - the second-largest in the world - and several of the group's members were convicted and jailed.
Two people, identified as Abdul Majed Remmo and Mohamed Remmo, escaped during Tuesday's raid.
