Two Serbs, a Croat and a German had been breaking into homes in Munich and Ingolstadt together since 2004, spying on them first to make sure the owners were out before levering open windows or side doors and grabbing anything they could carry away.

Their favoured targets were watches, jewellery and cash, and the system helped them rake in €2.4 million over several years.

The loot was stashed at the home of the Croat member of the crew – whose job was also to dispose of safes the gang had boosted from their victims' homes and broken into later at leisure.

But the pilfering spree came to an end in early 2014. Witnesses had noted down the getaway car's numberplate late the previous year, and police officers collared the gang soon afterwards.

While they cooled their heels in police custody, prosecutors put together an imposing list of 297 witnesses to testify in court.

Now the gang all face a sentence of between one and ten years for serious organized theft.

Although the Croat insists that he was just a lookout and the one lumped with storing all the swag, prosecutors say he belonged to the core of the group – and promise that they'll prove it to the court.

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