Asylum Seeker Jailed for Stealing from Oxford College and Viciously Damaging Rare Plants

Oxford Crime Spree Ends Behind Bars

Faida Elhabib, a 31-year-old asylum seeker from Morocco, has been locked up for 21 months after a brazen theft spree at one of Oxford University’s most prestigious spots. The crook swiped nearly £3,000 worth of jewellery, electronics, and food from Magdalen College’s Professor’s House, a court heard.

Destruction at Oxford Botanic Gardens

The court also revealed Elhabib broke into a greenhouse at Oxford’s Botanic Gardens in June 2024, where he damaged extremely rare and unique plants. Shockingly, he even bit one of the endangered specimens, causing irreparable harm to the prized greenery.

Checkered Past Shows No Sign of Reform

Elhabib, currently living in Luton, Bedfordshire, holds an alarming criminal record with 11 previous convictions spanning 16 offences. Despite his long rap sheet, his defence lawyer claimed the defendant “does not remember these events” and was living in an asylum hotel in Oxford at the time.

“He doesn’t know why he disturbed the plants and he doesn’t remember biting one,” said Peter Du Feu, mitigation counsel.

But the judge showed no mercy, handing down a firm 21-month sentence for the combined theft and vandalism offences.