Football legend Pele robbed on Brazilian street

SOCCER KING ROBBED: The youths robbed the soccer icon even after recognizing who he was.

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Keywords: Robbery, Pele

Rio de Janeiro: Football legend Pele was held at gun point and robbed in full daylight by a group of drugged-out youths on a Brazilian street, EFE news agency reported on Monday.

The robbery, which took place on June 13, but was not made public until now, occurred near a slum in Guaruja town on the southern coast of Sao Paulo on Sunday when about 10 armed young men surrounded Pele's car and robbed his gold chain, mobile phone and a costly watch, media reports said.

The king of soccer, however, was not hurt by the drugged-out robbers, the reports added.

The robbery took place when Pele was en route to his beach house on the coast near Santos, where he played professional soccer for nearly 20 years, the reports said quoting the soccer star's spokesman.

According to the unnamed spokesman, the youths robbed the soccer icon even after recognizing who he was.

Armed gangs often set up makeshift road blocks on Brazilian roads, halting traffic and robbing motorists. The robberies usually occur near slums, known as favela, where the thieves can easily escape and hide from the police.

The police said that no complaint had been filed in the incident.