An American policeman who came to Moscow to help train security guards was robbed in broad daylight by a gang of youngsters on one of the city's main streets, the police said Wednesday.


The officer, 47, from Mississippi, whose name the police withheld, was strolling on Baumanskaya street in Moscow on Saturday when he was approached by a group of four drunk youngsters who demanded he hand over his wallet, said Mikhail Lebedev, an investigator at the 29th militia department.


"Since the American hardly spoke any Russian, he failed to estimate the value of the threat and asked the men politely to repeat their speech slowly and preferably in English," Lebedev said.


Instead, one of the youngsters pulled the man's wallet out of his pocket, and the gang disappeared, leaving the policeman "speechless and cashless," he said.


The American reported his loss to the police, who succeeded in capturing the youths and returning his wallet, which contained 10,000 rubles ($1.98).