Cops in Russia have finally tracked down items of jewellery worth over GBP 1.5 million that were stolen during the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and can now return them to their owner.

Police in the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia’s Volga Federal District managed to locate and recover the jewellery stolen in July 2018 from a wooded area on 20th May.

At the time, a suitcase containing diamonds and jewellery was stolen from an employee of the Seven Diamonds jewellery store at the Kazan Expo International Exhibition Centre.

The stolen goods were valued at over RUB 160 million (GBP 1,534,305).

After analysing CCTV footage and DNA traces left at the scene, the police identified Colombian citizen Edgar Alejandro Valero Valero as the prime suspect.

He was found to have fled the country and his arrest was ordered in absentia.

He was finally detained in Argentina in September 2019 and was extradited to Russia in March this year. He is currently in pre-trial custody at a detention facility in Tatarstan.

He confessed his crime to the police, telling officers that he buried the stash in a wooded area in a district of Kazan. However, he did not reveal the exact location.

After poring over a large area, the police finally managed to find and retrieve four bags containing the stolen goods.

Irina Volk, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, said: “The confiscated jewellery will be handed over to the rightful owner in the near future.”