Premeditated intrusion: Inside the chilling night West Ham's Zouma was robbed
The family of Kurt Zouma, a soccer player for West Ham United, went through a terrifying experience. On a Saturday night, their home was burglarized by a group of thieves while the defender, his wife, and their four young children were present at their residence.
The British newspaper "The Sun" reported that Zouma's home invasion transpired on the same Saturday night. The findings from the investigative journalists stated that the thieves had stolen jewelry and cash amounting to around $25,000.
Reports from British media groups suggest that a coterie of professional criminals were behind the burglary. Although Zouma and his family live in a secured street, the thieves managed to bypass security measures and infiltrate the property.
According to "The Sun", the crime seemed to be well-thought-out in advance, noting the swift actions of the burglars and the familiarity with the layout of the property and location of valuable items suggesting premeditation.
The entire Zouma family was inside the house at the time of the breach, including Zouma, his wife, and their four young children. Thankfully, no physical injury was inflicted upon anyone, but the traumatic incident had a significant emotional impact on all members of the household.
Due to the break-in, Zouma was absent from his team's Sunday match. His team, West Ham, featuring former Polish representative Łukasz Fabiański, matched up against Crystal Palace. The game ended in a 1:1 tie. Before the kick-off, the London club announced Zouma's absence, citing "personal reasons".
Later, it was revealed that the reason for his absence was the break-in. As per "The Telegraph" reports, the player and his family are planning to relocate and have commenced the hunt for a new home.
West Ham United confirmed the robbery at Zouma's residence, and the club has announced that it will support its player and has set a substantial reward for assistance in apprehending the culprits responsible for the burglary.
The club offered a reward of £25,000 (approximately $33,000) for information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of the burglars who broke into Kurt Zouma's home last weekend - as announced on the official club account on the X service.
Kurt Zouma has been a player for West Ham United since August 2021. The French defender transferred to the "Hammers" from Chelsea for 35 million euros (approximately $39 million). In this season, he has participated in 12 matches for his team, scoring one goal.
In February 2022, Zouma was embroiled in a massive scandal. A video leaked online showed Zouma mistreating a cat, which was filmed by his brother. Zouma was seen tossing the animal to the floor and then kicking it. For his reprehensible actions, he was sentenced to 180 hours of community service and received a 5-year prohibition from owning cats.
