Spice-napping Plot Scuttled

British police say they have thwarted a set of would-be kidnappers from taking a crack at stealing what they really, really want: Posh Spice.

Scotland Yard officials have arrested nine people for allegedly plotting to abduct erstwhile Spice Girl Victoria Beckham and hold her hostage for a nearly $8 million ransom.

The cops were tipped off over the weekend by the British tabloid News of the World, which said the attackers schemed to surprise the singer in front of her London home and use chemical spray to knock her out. The tabloid said a team of undercover reporters had infiltrated the gang and learned of their Posh-napping plan.

Acting on the newspaper scoop, however, the cops foiled the plot, seizing nine suspects (seven men and two women) on Saturday and Sunday.

On Monday, five of the men were charged in a London court on an unrelated plan involving a heist at the famed Sotheby's auction house. Three of the suspects, Azem Krifsha, Joseph Rivas and Rusu Sorin, were charged with swiping a jeweled turban worth $93,000 from the auctioneers. Two others, Adrian Razvan Pasareanu and Alin Turcu, were charged with conspiracy to rob a Sotheby's employee.

The five remain jailed until their next hearing on November 11.

"Inquiries into an alleged conspiracy to kidnap continue," Scotland Yard said in a statement.

The News of the World said the kidnapping plan was discovered after their moles hooked up with the band of Albanian and Romanian hoods. The group wanted to attack Posh and her sons, Brooklyn and Romeo, in a bid for a multimillion-dollar ransom payoff from her husband, David Beckham, the headline-grabbing star of England's Manchester United soccer team who, between his soccer salary and endorsement deals, makes tens of millions of dollars a year. (Beckham is often considered Britain's Michael Jordan.)

For their part, Posh and her soccer-star hubby said they are stunned by the news and are upping security measures in their home, starting with armed police officers at every door.

"It's clear these people were serious and that, of course, has scared the life out of me," Victoria Beckham told News of the World. "I am in absolute and total shock."

"The first role of a father and husband is to keep his family safe," the Manchester United star said in a statement.

Perhaps most shocking is that this is the second kidnapping scare involving the Posh One. The Beckhams were forced to hire a bodyguard in 2000, when police uncovered another plot to snatch the star and baby Brooklyn for cash. No arrests were made at the time.

Meanwhile, in July 2001, a 37-year-old woman broke into the hallway of the couple's home and stole some of their mail (yes, mail). She eventually wound up in a psychiatric hospital. A man was arrested in 2000 for slicing the brake lines on David Beckham's Ferrari, and the couple has reportedly received bullets in the mail.

All this ill will prompted the celeb twosome to reportedly order a $230,000 custom-made, armor-plated Mercedes invulnerable to gunshots, gas attacks and mine blasts. The British press has dubbed their well-fortified home "Beckingham Palace" for security that rivals the royals'.

Victoria helped the Spice Girls sell a whopping 40 million records in the late 1990s with hits like "Wannabe" as the pretty, pouty well-dressed member of the pre-fab fivesome. Like her bandmates, she has since launched a so-so solo career. Her most recent single is a ditty called "A Mind of Its Own."