GRANDE TEMA

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Four stowaways have been jailed after they ran amok

Four stowaways have been jailed after they ran amok on the 'Grande Tema' The men, from Nigeria and Liberia, waved metal poles and lobbed faeces and urine after they were discovered hiding aboard the ship in December 2018. When the ship reached the Thames Estuary bound for Tilbury docks, they demanded to be dropped off in Britain. Two of the men made cut-throat gestures at the crew who had barricaded themselves on the bridge behind bullet proof glass. Following a 14-hour standoff, special forces swooped on the ship under cover of darkness to rescue the sailors Following an Old Bailey trial, Samuel Jolumi, 27, Ishola Sunday, 28, Toheeb Popoola, 27, and Joberto McGee, 21, were cleared of attempting to hijack the ship but convicted of affray. Popoola was found guilty of making a threat to kill while McGee was convicted on two similar offences. In mitigation, it was claimed Popoola had acted out of desperation and now regretted his behaviour as he awaited the outcome of his asylum application. McGee had fled West Africa in search a safer country and to avoid being forced to join a tribal gang. The court heard Popoola and McGee has been stowaways before and been sent back to Nigeria each time. By contrast, Sunday, a married father of two, had made an “impulsive decision” to hide aboard the ship and “wants nothing other than to go home and rebuild his life”, the court was told. Judge Nigel Lickley QC sentenced ringleader McGee to 32 months in jail telling him: “Your behaviour was at times menacing and threatening.” Popoola was jailed for 31 months and the two co-defendants were handed jail terms of 16 months. “The crew were intimidated, fearful and some feared for their lives at times. The English Channel is a busy sea lane and it was disrupted by your activity.“ The judge praised the “fortitude and good sense” of the ship’s Italian captain, Antonio Raggi, in the face of violence and possible death. During the trial, prosecutor Tony Badenoch QC had told how the men had secretly boarded the Grimaldi Group ship in Lagos, Nigeria, before it set off on its trading route to Tilbury in Essex. The captain found them on the lower deck ramp close to where the propellers are, with two hanging over the rails in dangerous waters. The men were given food and water and placed into quarantine but broke out five days later and demanded to be taken to Britain. Mr Badenoch said: “In order to reinforce these demands the defendants armed themselves with metal poles, they threw urine and faeces, and in at least one defendant’s cases, they cut themselves.” They were filmed by the crew making cut-throat gestures and waving bottles of urine. The court was also shown footage of the stowaways armed with metal poles, with one appearing to square up in a boxing pose. The incident was reported to British authorities and the ship was held off-shore in UK waters, unable to dock, as the stalemate continued. Thames Estuary stowaways. In the middle of the night, special forces descended on the ship and detained the stowaways, jurors were told. Giving evidence, Capt Raggi told jurors of his fears for the safety of his 27-strong crew. He said: “For me, these guys could be terrorists, Boko Haram, I don’t know. They come on board, they break the safety, the security of the vessel. My problem is if these guys have put something in a part of the vessel and after are going to come and get weapons.”

Stowaways found guilty of affray

Four stowaways accused of throwing faeces in a 14-hour stand off on the 'Grande Tema' in the Thames Estuary have been found guilty of affray. The men, from Nigeria and Liberia, were accused of arming themselves with metal poles onboard the ship and demanded to be taken to Britain in December 2018. The Italian captain had feared the men could be terrorists. The four, aged between 20 and 28, were cleared of attempting to hijack the ship but convicted of affray. Samuel Jolumi, 27, Ishola Sunday, 28, Toheeb Popoola, 27, and Joberto McGee, 20, will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Jan 3, 2020. Popoola was found guilty of making a threat to kill, while McGee was convicted of two counts of the same charge. Prosecutor Tony Badenoch QC said the defendants had hidden themselves aboard the ship which was sailing between West Africa and various European ports, including Tilbury in Essex. They were on the lower deck for a number of days and when the crew discovered them they were placed into quarantine, jurors heard. But five days later they broke out and in order to reinforce these demands, armed themselves with metal poles, they threw urine and faeces, and in at least one case, they cut themselves. The ship was held off-shore in UK waters during the stalemate, before special forces detained the quartet in the middle of the night. Giving evidence, the Italian captain Antonio Raggi told jurors of his fears for the safety of the 27-strong crew.

Four men have been charged with affray

Four men accused of threatening the crew of the "Grande Tema" in the Thames Estuary have been charged with affray. Ishola Sunday, 27, Samuel Jolumi, 26, Toheeb Popoola, 26, and Joberto McGee, 20, all of no fixed address, were arrested after police boarded the vessel on Dec 21 following reports of stowaways allegedly threatening the crew. Special Boat Service (SBS) operatives from Sabre Squadron fast-roped from helicopters on to the ship. The operation lasted around 25 minutes and no one on board was injured. Essex Police were first alerted to an incident on the vessel which had sailed from Lagos on Dec 10. The ship arrived at the port of Tilbury on Dec 22 shortly after 4.20 a.m.