BRITAIN: Five men arrested in connection with an alleged plot to kidnap Victoria Beckham have been charged variously with theft and conspiracy to rob, Scotland Yard said early today.
A Scotland Yard spokesperson said: "Five men will appear in court today charged variously with theft and conspiracy to rob." He added: "The inquiries into the alleged conspiracy to kidnap continue."
The spokesman said the five would be released on police bail until November 18 following the court appearance.
Of the other four people arrested over the weekend, one woman has been released without charge. Two men and one woman are on police bail pending inquiries unconnected to the alleged theft and kidnap matters.
The five men charged last night will appear before Horseferry Road magistrates in London this morning.
Mr Azem Krifsha (30), from Kosovo, but living in London, wascharged with theft and handling of a jewelled turban valued at £60,000, belonging to Sotheby's.
Mr Joseph Rivas (24), of Brixton, south London, was charged with theft and handling of a jewelled turban valued at £60,000, belonging to Sotheby's and conspiracy to rob an employee of Sotheby's of an unknown amount.
Mr Rusu Sorin (31), born in Romania, but living in Croydon, south London, was also charged with theft and handling of a jewelled turban valued at £60,000, belonging to Sotheby's.
Two other Romanian men - Mr Adrian Razvan Pasareanu (28), of Morden, south London, and Mr Alin Turcu (18), of Sutton in Surrey, were both charged with conspiracy to rob an employee of Sotheby's of an unknown amount.
Earlier Victoria Beckham, Spice Girl wife of England soccer captain David Beckham, said she was in shock after police arrested the nine people suspected of plotting to kidnap her by knocking her out with a chemical spray.
Police said armed officers had arrested the nine in London after a tip-off from the News of the World tabloid newspaper, whose reporters infiltrated a gang of Romanians and Albanians.
"I'm in absolute and total shock," Victoria Beckham told the Sunday newspaper. "It's clear these people were serious and that, of course, has scared the life out of me." Her husband thanked the police for their professionalism and said he would review his family's security arrangements.
"The first role of a father and husband is to keep his family safe," David Beckham said in a statement.
The News of the World said the gang planned to demand a ransom of £5 million ( €7.8 million) after seizing Victoria and, if necessary, her sons Brooklyn (3) and two-month-old Romeo, some time before the year-end. Television showed footage of heavily armed police arresting men at a rendezvous in a car park. Tapes, apparently recorded by under-cover journalists, showed alleged gang members discussing the plot.
"One week to bring this amount of money and then death. If it is not then they going to cut her in pieces. That's all," a man is heard saying with a heavy eastern European accent.
The Sunday Times's annual "rich list" said David Beckham earned £15.5 million pounds (€24.3 million) over the past year. Victoria was at Manchester United's Old Trafford ground on Saturday afternoon to watch her husband and his team play. She had known of the threat but did not tell her husband until after the game.
In 2000, the Beckhams hired a bodyguard after reports police had uncovered a plan to snatch Victoria and Brooklyn and hold them for a ransom of £1 million. No arrests were made.