Gun gang raid Arsenal star's home

Masked carjackers broke into Arsenal striker Nwankwo Kanu's £3 million home, held his brother at gunpoint and threatened to kill him unless he handed over the keys to the star's £45,000 Mercedes car.

The Nigerian international footballer, who earns £30,000 per week, had installed a £20,000 advanced security system after a previous raid - but it was turned off because his brother Henry was in.

Police believe the gang targeted Kanu's six-bedroom home after spotting the Mercedes and a £40,000 BMW in the drive. They are linking the attack to a series of violent north London carjackings last week.

The three men, in balaclavas, broke down the front door of the house in Beech Hill, Hadley Wood, Enfield. They walked into a bedroom where Henry Kanu was asleep and held handguns to his head in the raid at around 10pm on Sunday.

The gang demanded the keys to the £45,000 Mercedes ML car and tied up Mr Kanu, believed to be in his twenties, after he told them his footballer brother was out. They ransacked the property, stealing mobile phones, cash and clothes valued at thousands of pounds.

Mr Kanu, uninjured, struggled free and telephoned a relative. But the robbers had fled when police arrived at 10.50pm.

A spokeswoman for Scotland Yard said: "It appears the gang either kicked down the front door or used sledgehammers. We believe the robbers had knowledge of a car on the premises before."

In the previous raid in September 2000, the player returned from abroad to find his home stripped of property worth £200,000 including the Uefa Cupwinner's medal he won with Inter Milan, a £10,000 Rolex watch and the star's £70,000 Mercedes CL500.

Neighbours said they had not heard the raid. Kanu lives close to former Arsenal teammate Marc Overmars, who has also been the victim of a series of burglaries.

The player did not comment about the raid last night. His spokesman said: "I can't say anything on Kanu's behalf, but it is a shame things like this keep happening in the UK."

Detectives are linking the attack to one of the capital's worst spates of carjacking last week, during which armed robbers made off with two high-performance Subaru cars and a BMW M3 Coupe with a total value of around £90,000 pounds from four north London homes in four hours.