A ‘professional’ gang of burglars are targeting footballers while they are in their homes, according to reports.
Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was recently burgled while his fiancee Perrie Adwards and their son were at their £3.5million home in Cheshire. As well as the former England international, ex-Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba also suffered a similar burglary, while the wife of United defender Victor Lindelof, Maja Linedlof was forced to lock herself in a panic room after burglars broke into their home.
The brazen thugs are reportedly donning boiler suits to ensure their DNA is not being recovered in the homes of the players. And if that was not terrifying enough, the criminals are also believed to be specifically timing their raids while the players and their families are at home.
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“It’s five or six guys loosely connected to Salford and very professional,” a source said to the Sun. “They used to take down cash vans in the 1990s before it got too difficult.
“They spend ages casing a joint and are not afraid to take a risk if the reward is there. They know if they break in when no one is home the modern systems are so good they will only have minutes before the cops or security turn up.
“But when players are home they don’t have the systems on, so if they can get in, they can spend more time in the house. It raises fears that stars will be confronted and get seriously hurt at some point.”
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While this incident did not happen in the UK, Chelsea striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang suffered a broken jaw at the hands of burglars during the tail end of his spell at Barcelona. However, former Metropolitan Police Detective Chief Inspector Mick Neville also believes more terrifying scenes could occur in this country.
“Footballers are being targeted by a highly organised gang who are willing to come face-to-face to take what they want,” he also said to the Sun. “Home security systems protect properties brilliantly when they are on.
“But people don’t set house alarms when they are relaxing with their family. It brings a real threat that a footballer or their wife or children could be seriously injured because most of the time these robbers are armed with knives.”
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