Bid to kidnap ‘Posh Spice’ foiled

‘‘Their plans were fairly well formed. They knew when, they knew where, they knew how,’’ Andy Coulson, deputy editor of the News of the World, said. Officers arrested four men and one woman during two raids in East and South London on Saturday.

Further arrests were made in London on Sunday morning. The tabloid said the gang had planned to demand a ransom of five million pounds after seizing Victoria and, if necessary, her sons Brooklyn, three, and two-month-old Romeo some time before the end of December.

The paper said the gang had planned to use chemical spray to sedate her and hold her hostage in a house in South London.

‘‘As a result of information from the tabloid, SO7 Kidnap Unit conducted an operation on Sunday to arrest a group of individuals who are suspected of having been involved in theft and a conspiracy to commit kidnap,’’ said Detective Chief Superintendent John Coles, head of London’s anti-kidnap unit.

The nine are being questioned at London police stations. This is the second time a plot to abduct Victoria Beckham has been revealed.

In January 2000, gangsters tried to snatch her and her son Brooklyn and hold them at a house in Hampstead, London.