Two Texas men were charged with stealing official team gear from England’s national soccer team while a dozen people were arrested in a human trafficking sting that was organized just before the tournament kicked off.
Prosecutors in Jackson County, Missouri, said Saturday that they charged Mustafa Salik and Erfan Kamal with receiving stolen property after the two men allegedly swiped signed national team jerseys, several pairs of cleats, goalkeeper gloves and a World Cup soccer ball.
Authorities said the two suspects stole the equipment as England’s team was preparing to leave their pre-tournament training grounds in Florida for their longer-term World Cup home of Kansas City, Missouri.
The stolen goods were worth about $18,000 in value, officials said.
“Jackson County will not tolerate any criminal activity that targets World Cup visitors, including the international teams that have traveled here to compete,” Jackson County prosecutor Melesa Johnson said. “We thank the Kansas City Police Department and our on-call attorneys for their quick work in filing charges immediately.”
The arrests come days after 12 men were taken into custody as part of an anti-human trafficking operation in the Miami area in the lead-up to the World Cup.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office Human Trafficking Task Force said the suspects made payments to undercover agents in the hopes of meeting young teenage children for sex. The 12 men were instead met with handcuffs Wednesday.
“They knew they were buying a child. They had intended to exploit and have sex with these children,” State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said.
The suspects ranged in age from 22 to 51 and paid between $300 and $800 after responding to an online advertisement, prosecutors said. All the suspects are being held without bond.
Ms. Rundle said local authorities beefed up their human trafficking teams ahead of the World Cup to crack down on visitors who come to host cities with nefarious intentions. Federal officials said human trafficking was one of their top security concerns during the tournament.
“We know that while the good people come, and they want to come and enjoy our beautiful community … these incredible games that we’re hosting, we know when the good guys come, the bad guys come too,” Ms. Rundle said.
