Five on Beckham kidnap charges
 |
Victoria Beckham: Became superstar with the Spice Girls
Story Tools
|
LONDON, England -- Five men accused of plotting to kidnap Victoria Beckham, a former Spice Girl and wife of soccer star David Beckham, have appeared before a British court.
Scotland Yard's special kidnap unit arrested the men -- four Romanians and a Kosovan Albanian -- last November after a tip-off from a tabloid newspaper but the men were not charged until this month.
One of the men -- who were surrounded by dock officers as they sat just feet away from the former Spice Girl's father Tony and brother Christian during the hour-long hearing at London's Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court -- also faces two further charges.
Brian Altman, prosecuting, said Adrian Razvan Pasareanu had been additionally charged with "having a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence" on or about October 25, 2002.
A further, similarly worded alternative count against him involved an imitation firearm.
In the dock with the 28-year-old of Morden, south London, was Azem Krifsha, 30, a Kosovo Albanian, Alin Turcu, Sorin Rusu, and Joseph Rivas, 24. All were living in south London.
They spoke only once to identify themselves. None of them entered pleas. The court was told that the men's trial could last up to three months and was expected to take place later this year.
Judge Henry Blacksell QC further remanded all five in custody for a hearing to deal with legal matters on a date to be fixed.
