Two men charged after stealing England's training equipment

Two men have been charged with receiving stolen property following the disappearance of England team equipment valued at approximately £13,530 during its journey from Florida to Kansas City before the World Cup.

Jackson County prosecutor Melesa Johnson brought charges against Mustafa Salik and Erfan Kamal, with each defendant facing a single count carrying a potential prison sentence of up to seven years.

The pair were responsible for transporting the national team's gear from their warm-weather training base in West Palm Beach to Kansas City, where a detective subsequently recovered the items.

Court documents revealed the specific items allegedly discovered included four pairs of boots priced at £250 each and five pairs of shoes priced at £170 each.

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Signed national team shirts were also among the recovered goods, alongside a World Cup ball valued at £160 and goalkeeper gloves costing £120.

Two stuffed lions and a Lego set depicting a Nike Air shoe featured among the variety of possessions taken during what Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas described as a "heist in transit of English national team equipment".

The FA confirmed the majority of the training gear had been retrieved before England's opening session at their base.

Goalkeeper Dean Henderson responded with a smile when questioned about whether his equipment had arrived safely.

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He said: "Yeah, thankfully. I think they got stolen, but we got them back, so it's all good."

Experienced defender Dan Burn joked he "wouldn't be able to move very much" if his boots had not turned up.

The Newcastle player said: "We've not made a big deal out of it. I've got everything I need, so I'm quite happy.

"We know that stuff has been left to the police, and as a group we've not really spoken about that at all."

Asked if the FA had spoken to the players, Burn added: "To be honest, it's not really been spoken about, so I think that shows for us that they're not too worried about it as well.

"We're here to train. The first day out here, so it's not disrupted our preparation."

Kansas City mayor Lucas said: "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.

"Kansas City's public safety leadership will continue to ensure all are safe and offenders will be held accountable swiftly for any misconduct."

Jackson County prosecutor Johnson added: "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."

England kick off their World Cup campaign on June 17 against Croatia.

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