Arsenal legend Nwankwo Kanu Nwankwo had £8,250 (over N4 million) in cash stolen from his suitcase in Moscow after he arrived from London. Russian police said it was taken by two loaders at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. According to The Sun, Kanu Nwankwo reported the money missing when he reached Kaliningrad, where he was playing in a World Cup curtain raiser game organised by Fifa. Lt-Col Irina Volk, spokeswoman for the Russian Interior Ministry, said the loaders were dealing with the baggage from a London to Moscow flight.
Kanu, travelling on a British passport, had appealed for help to police in Kaliningrad. Volk said: “The stolen cash was removed [by the loaders] and will soon be returned to the owner.”
A Russian source reported: “The World Cup has not even begun yet, but world soccer celebrities already require the help of Russian police.”The loaders, aged 30 and 36, face criminal investigation and could be sent to jail for up to six years.
The ex-Arsenal man, a former Nigerian international, did not mention the theft in speaking to the media in the Baltic city, where England will play on June 28.