SAO PAULO: The sister of AC Milan's Brazilian striker Ricardo Oliveira has been kidnapped in Sao Paulo, her husband has revealed.
Maria de Lourdes da Silva Oliveira, 35, was snatched on Wednesday when kidnappers broke into her home in the northern suburbs of Sao Paulo and tied up her husband and eight-year-old son.
Kidnappings such as these are not uncommon in Brazil where the mothers of footballers are usually the targets.
Five players' mothers were seized in 2004 and 2005. Although the gangs that snatch them tend to be armed, the family members are always returned alive and well, although usually after a ransom is paid.
One of the most infamous incidents was that of Real Madrid forward Robinho, just after he signed for the Spanish giants from Sao Paulo team Santos in 2004.
His mother was held for 41 days before he stumped up around 55,000 euros to free her. He was just 20 at the time. The most recent such case was the snatching of the sister of Michael Anderson da Silva, who plays for Palmeiras, as she arrived at work a month ago.
Other players affected recently by family kidnappings were Grafite (ex Sao Paulo), Kleber (Santos), Rogerio (Fluminense), Marinho (Corinthians) and Luis Fabiano (Sevilla).
