British Transport Police (BTP) has secured a conviction of four men who daubed graffiti on London Underground trains.
The men are believed to have travelled to the UK from Spain to target the trains, and were convicted after an investigation by British Transport Police. On Saturday, 11th July, the four men, Asier Dorado-Alosete, 21, Javier Martinez-Lopez, 30, Juan Palomino Andres-Cabanas, 22, and Galo Adrian Romero-Valle, all from Spain, appeared at Highbury Magistrates Court. The charges against them included: Criminal Damage; Having Articles with Intent to Cause Damage; and Trespass on the Railway.
In the early hours of Wednesday, 8th July, the four men trespassed across live railway lines in High Barnet, where they started spraying large graffiti murals across the side of a train. Staff watching CCTV quickly spotted them and contacted BTP.
After BTP officers searched the area, they found and detained Romero-Valle and Andres-Cabanas nearby, and, being unable to explain why they were there, they were arrested and their phones seized for evidence. Police also found 44 aerosol spray cans hidden in bushes, but were unable to find Martinez-Lopez and Dorado-Alosete, who remained hidden; they were arrested at Stansted Airport on 9th July as they waited to board a flight to Spain.
All four men were fined £187 and given five-year Criminal Behaviour Orders, whilst Romero-Valle and Andres-Cabanas were also ordered to pay £972 compensation to Transport for London (TfL). Martinez-Lopez and Romero-Valle received 12-month prison sentences, suspended for 24 months, and Dorado-Alosete and Andres-Cabanas received 10-month prison sentences, suspended for 12 months.
The East Lancashire Railway also suffered a graffiti attack in May, when a Class 43 locomotive and several coaches were covered in graffiti.
“This was an amazing effort by so many people at BTP to quickly attend the location and arrest those involved, and to later arrest the other two men before they could fly home. While these offences may seem relatively low-level, there is a high cost involved to train operating companies who have to carry out repairs costing thousands of pounds. It also causes disruption across the rail network as trains are taken out of service to be cleaned.”
“The conduct of these men was also incredibly ill-thought out, as stepping on the tracks is extremely dangerous. The railway is an unforgiving environment to trespass on, and our officers as first responders have sadly seen the horrific consequences of doing so. Anyone who witnesses anyone committing criminal damage on the railway network to get in touch with BTP by texting 61016 so we can robustly deal with offenders.”
BTP Sergeant Phil Osafo
Responses
I would have made them clean the graffiti off, & given a 12 months prison sentence, NOT suspended.
So why then (yet again) does the punishment not fit the crime?……..
While these offences may seem relatively low-level, there is a high cost involved to train operating companies who have to carry out repairs costing thousands of pounds. It also causes disruption across the rail network as trains are taken out of service to be cleaned.”
Either the costs of the clean-up of the affected trains and the BTP time was less than £1900 or I, and every other tax payer/rail user is paying for damage done by this mini Spanish invasion.
Anyone caught spraying graffiti should be made to repair the damage done, as well as a fine and suspended (for first tine offenders) jail sentence.
Pathetic sentences really, hardly going to deter other idiots from doing the same thing again.