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CRIME

Brits jailed for stealing museum rhino horns

Two British men who stole rhino horns from a museum to sell on the Asian market as medicine and potency drugs were sentenced to prison in Germany on Friday.

Brits jailed for stealing museum rhino horns
Photo: DPA

The Offenburg court sentenced the 31- and 29-year-old to three and two-and-a-half years for what Judge Ute Körber said was serious joint theft, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Saturday.

The men, who both have long criminal records, admitted stealing the horns from stuffed rhino heads on display in the Offenburg museum “Ritterhaus” in Baden-Württemberg.

Their modus operandi was simple, according to earlier media reports: a couple would distract the museum’s staff while two men upstairs climbed on top of a display case, took the head from where it was hanging on the wall and knocked its horns off with a sledge hammer. They then fled with the horns hidden in their coats.

Horns have also been stolen in Hamburg, Münster, Bamberg and the eastern town of Sebnitz and other places.

They are apparently part of a global network of rhino horn dealers, directed from the UK and Ireland, the magazine said.

Another member of the gang has already been convicted under youth laws and is free. A fourth man aged 36 is on the run. The rhino horns have not been found, but are considered to be worth around €50,000 each – when powdered, they are highly valued in Asia.

The Local/hc

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BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

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