Two men have been charged after £13,500 worth of England's World Cup equipment was stolen from a vehicle in Kansas City — a haul that included three signed jerseys valued at $15,000, goalkeeper gloves and a Lego set of a Nike Air shoe.
Mustafa Salik and Erfan Kamal each face one count of receiving stolen property, a class D felony under Missouri law that carries a sentence of between one and seven years in prison. The theft occurred as the vehicle was transporting equipment from England's pre-tournament camp in Florida to Kansas City, according to Jackson County's prosecution office.
“Two men charged after £13,500 of England's World Cup kit, including signed jerseys, stolen from vehicle.”
The full list of stolen items, detailed in court documents seen by BBC Sport, includes four pairs of football boots worth $1,340.60, five pairs of shoes valued at $1,139.50, a pair of goalkeeper gloves ($160.87), four pairs of navy shorts, four light blue long-sleeve shirts, four light blue short-sleeve shirts, multifunctional power strips ($40) and the Lego set ($99.99). Two white signed jerseys were listed at $5,000 each, with a third signed jersey also taken.
Jackson County prosecutor Melesa Johnson said: 'Jackson County will not tolerate any criminal activity that targets World Cup visitors, including the international teams that have travelled here to compete. We thank the Kansas City Police Department and our on-call attorneys for their quick work investigating this incident and filing charges immediately. Our office is committed to holding these individuals accountable.'
Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas added: 'I am grateful for the quick work of the Kansas City Police Department and the Prosecutor's Office in resolving an investigation across several states, helping crime victims recover goods stolen in transit, and ensuring the accused will face prosecution.'
The majority of the stolen property has now been recovered, and the Football Association has been clear that nothing taken would impact England's preparations for Wednesday's World Cup opener against Croatia. England defender Dan Burn said: 'I've not lost anything personally, we found out from you guys [the media]. It's with the police now so not sure how much I can comment. It's not really been spoken about, so that just shows for us that they aren't too worried about it — it's not really disrupted our preparations.'