This is the moment crooks smashed open cases to steal jewelry worth up to a billion euros from a German museum once described as ‘Fort Knox’, after squeezing through a tiny hole to get inside.

The ‘small’ diamond thieves stole three sets of ‘priceless’ 18th-century jewelry from Dresden’s Green Vault in the early hours of this morning in what could be the world’s biggest-ever heist.

Burglars switched off a power supply to the royal palace and broke in through a window before sneaking in through a narrow gap.

Once inside, the brazen raiders smashed open cabinets and stole three jewelry ensembles which were commissioned by Saxony’s former ruler Augustus the Strong in an 18th-century show of power.

Read more: daily mail