Pair held in Kansas City over stolen England squad gear

Two suspects are in custody after equipment belonging to the England football team disappeared while the squad relocated to its World Cup base in Missouri.

Pair held in Kansas City over stolen England squad gear

Law enforcement in Missouri have placed two individuals under arrest after valuables linked to the England football delegation vanished during the side's transfer to its tournament hub, NPR reports.

The squad's belongings went missing on Friday evening while the team travelled from a warm-up camp in Florida to Kansas City, where it will remain throughout the competition. The national association verified the loss to reporters on Saturday yet refused to elaborate while enquiries continue.

A spokesperson for the municipal force confirmed the pair of arrests. The city's mayor, who has acted as a mouthpiece for World Cup matters locally, explained that agencies spanning local, state and national jurisdictions are tracing exactly where along the route the seizure happened and whether further suspects exist.

Kansas City was picked as the English camp because of its geographic convenience rather than match scheduling: the opening contest in Texas is roughly an hour and a half by air, fixtures on the east coast are within three hours, and the Pacific time zone is reachable should the side advance past the group phase.

The delegation is practising at a local soccer complex and lodging at a small hotel across the state line in Kansas. Argentina and the Netherlands are also using the Missouri city as a headquarters, while Algeria has set up in a nearby university town.

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)