Arsenal defender Sead Kolasinac's wife was held by police after attempting to bring an illegal stun gun into the UK for personal protection.
Kolasinac and Gunners teammate Mesut Ozil were victims of an attempted armed robbery in July last year, with the Bosnian heroically leaping out of his car and chasing their attackers away despite them wielding a knitting needle and screwdriver as weapons.
The left-back's wife was sat in the vehicle as the attack unfolded and the incident caused her significant distress, leading to her purchasing the stun gun for protection. Such a weapon is illegal in the UK and Kolasinac was stopped by police when it was found in her luggage after she arrived on a private flight from Frankfurt on Sunday.
The wife of the former Schalke man believed that she had permission to import the gun, as explained in a recent statement.
"It was all a misunderstanding. The electro shocker was still in its packaging and didn’t have any batteries," a spokesman for Kolasinac told the Sun. “Bella was able to prove she sent emails to the flight operators to make sure she could import it.
“Unfortunately, she was in the air with her phone off when she received an email saying the device was illegal. The airline had informed customs officers that she had the shocker before the plane landed.
“She didn’t declare it because she didn’t think she had done anything wrong. These devices can be carried legally in a bag in Germany if the owner has a permit. She’s obviously very security conscious after what happened to Sead and Mesut.”
One of the players' attackers, Ashley Smith, was jailed for 10 years for his part in the attempted robbery last year, while his accomplice Jordan Northover pled guilty to the crime back in November.
Source : 90min