[all_funkt_up]

Crazy business - Patrick Viera's house was apparently pumped with sleeping gas to enable robbers to burgle his house while he and his family slept like babies. Quite shocking really the lengths people go to isnt it. If they had got the quantities wrong it could have had catastrophic effects really.

Last Updated: Wednesday, 24 May 2006, 10:43 GMT 11:43 UK
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Police hunt Vieira gas attackers

Vieira left Arsenal to join Juventus for £13.7m last summer

French Police are hunting the intruders who used gas to knock out Juventus midfielder Patrick Vieria before robbing his French Riviera villa.

Police scientists discovered that gas was pumped into the air conditioning system to keep the 29-year-old and his family asleep.

The former Arsenal player has returned to training with the France World Cup squad following a health check.

The intruders stole jewellery before leaving in Vieria's Mercedes.

The car was later found abandoned in Nice. A police spokesman said: "We are now involved in a hunt for these burglars and we cannot say if they knew this was the home of the footballer or not." Vieira spent nine seasons at Arsenal before signing for Juventus last summer and has won 84 caps for his country.