Former Super Eagles player, Kanu Nwankwo has recovered the money stolen from his luggage on arrival at the Moscow airport over the weekend.
Kanu told AOIFootball.com that the local police have returned the stolen money.
“Yes it’s true that the money was stolen from me, but I can confirm to you right now that I have my money with me and I’m grateful to the security agencies for helping to recover it back,” He said.
The former Arsenal had the sum of $11,000 (9,300 euros) stolen from his suitcase at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport while he was on his way to playing in a friendly match organised by FIFA.
Kanu, 41, who captained the Nigerian national team and played for Arsenal and Inter Milan, was robbed as he transferred to a flight to Kaliningrad at the airport after arriving from London, TASS, the state news agency reported on Sunday.
AFO quoted TASS as saying the Russian Police had detained two baggage handlers who were unloading luggage from the London flight and stole the money from checked-in luggage.
“The stolen money has been confiscated and will shortly be returned to its owner,” police spokeswoman Irina Volk said.
Police confirmed to TASS that the luggage belonged to Kanu.
Moscow and Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave, will both host World Cup matches in a tournament that will see thousands of international fans travelling between the 11 host cities. Starting Monday, fans with tickets can travel to Russia visa-free. The first teams will also arrive in Russia this week.
Kanu played in Kaliningrad in a special “Relive the Legends” friendly match on Sunday as part of a team of FIFA Legends against a team of Russian veterans. Kanu’s team won 6-4.
Sheremetyevo saw a similar crime in March when a baggage handler was arrested and admitted to stealing 56,000 euros from a package belonging to a Moscow bank.