THREE men suspected of being linked to dozens of burglaries across south-east England are wanted by police, the BBC can reveal.

The raids include a break-in at the home of footballer Raheem Sterling when he was on World Cup duty last December.

An estimated £300,000 worth of jewellery and watches were stolen.

Alfred Isufi, 48, Gerard Kalaja, 22, and Henri Osmani, 44, who are all Albanian nationals, are being sought for questioning over 33 burglaries.

It is believed items totalling an estimated £1m have been taken in all of the raids, which happened in Surrey, Essex, Kent and Hertfordshire.

One man has already been charged and could stand trial next year – but he is yet to enter a plea.

Det Insp James Ansell told the BBC a team of Surrey Police detectives investigating the burglaries are set to make a public appeal on BBC One’s Crimewatch in the next few weeks, to try to establish the men’s current whereabouts.

The three wanted men all have links to Harlow, Essex and north London and are not believed to have left the UK.

“Investigating burglary dwellings is a priority for Surrey Police and we will be relentless in pursing these offenders,” Det Insp Ansell said.

Chelsea star Sterling travelled home from England’s camp in Qatar to be with his family after news of the incident reached him during the tournament.

He missed England’s 3-0 win over Senegal on 4 December, but returned as a substitute for the quarter-final defeat to France six days later.

While details of the other 32 raids have not yet been made public, Det Insp Ansell said they were predominantly carried out in “affluent areas”.

On Thursday a 23-year-old Albanian man appeared at Guildford Crown Court faced with 33 charges of conspiracy to commit burglary.

Emiliano Krosi, of Ditton Court Road, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, was brought to court from Wandsworth Prison, in south-west London, and spoke only to confirm his name via an Albanian interpreter.

Judge Rufus Taylor remanded Mr Krosi into custody ahead of another court date in November where he is expected to enter a plea.

A trial date has been set for 14 February next year and is expected to last just under two weeks.

Prosecutor Laurence Imrie said he anticipated there could be four defendants if the case goes to trial and told the court: “Efforts are being made to track the others down.”