O.J. Simpson was charged with kidnapping, conspiracy and armed robbery last night for allegedly stealing sports memorabilia from collectors in a casino hotel room.

Mr Simpson, acquitted in a sensational double-murder trial in 1995, is being held without bail.

Three co-defendants were charged with 11 criminal counts including coercion and assault with a deadly weapon. Mr Simpson was due in court on Wednesday morning for a hearing in the case.

The charges came a day after an audio recording was released apparently showing the former sports star orchestrating the armed robbery.

On the tape, Mr Simpson can be heard angrily confronting two dealers of sports memorabilia, who claim that he robbed them at gunpoint with a gang of associates.

The robbery allegedly took place on Thursday, the night before the release of his book, If I Did It, a “hypothetical confession” to the killing of his wife and her friend.

The tape was recorded by Thomas Riccio, co-owner of the auction house Universal Rarities, and released by the celebrity gossip website TMZ.com.

The website said that Mr Riccio had reportedly agreed to join Mr Simpson on a private "sting" operation to see if Alfred Beardsley, one of the memorabilia dealers, was trying to sell goods that belonged to Mr Simpson.

According to the alleged agreement, they would threaten Mr Beardsley with the police only if he did not give any stolen items back.

But on the tape, Mr Simpson can be heard bellowing: "Don’t let nobody out this room, motherf*****s. Think you can steal my s*** and sell it?"

In an interview with Good Morning America on ABC Bruce Fromong, another dealer, who was also in the room, said: "The door burst open and they came in almost commando style, OJ Simpson and some of his people, I guess you would call it, with guns drawn. O.J. at that time was saying, 'I want my stuff. I want my stuff.' The thing in my mind as soon as I saw him, I’m thinking, 'O.J., how can you be this dumb? You’re in enough trouble.'"

Mr Simpson was taken into custody in handcuffs on Sunday. His arraignment has been set for tomorrow.

Yale Galanter, a lawyer for Mr Simpson, said: "Mr Simpson is not guilty of these charges. We believe it is an extremely defensible case based on conflicting witness statements, flip-flopping by witnesses and witnesses making deals with the Government to flip."

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