Four men have been jailed after a “serious and sustained” outbreak of violence at Heathrow Airport in which tear gas was discharged inside a Terminal 3 car park, leaving people struggling to breathe and one worker vomiting blood. Tyrone Richards, 31, Anton Clarke-Butcher, 25, Omoneke Whyte, 30, and Denzel Eduardo, 28, had admitted affray at Isleworth Crown Court. Richards was jailed for 27 months, Whyte and Eduardo received 23 months each, while Clarke-Butcher was sentenced to 21 months in prison. Sentencing the four, Judge Kwame Inyundo said: “Individuals were targeted by you as a group and the violence used in the incident was serious and sustained.”
Tear gas discharged inside airport lift
The incident unfolded at around 8am on 7 December in a multi-storey car park at Terminal 3. Two women who had arrived on a British Airways flight from Johannesburg, South Africa, and two men who had met them at the airport were inside a lift when three of the defendants, wearing face coverings and dark clothing, discharged a substance believed to be CS spray. The court heard it was unclear which individual actually discharged the gas, but each of the four accepted their involvement in the joint enterprise. As the lift reached the ground floor, the gas spread into the surrounding area, affecting members of the public and workers at a nearby Caffè Nero. A barista told the court she began coughing before vomiting blood after being exposed to the substance. Five people were taken to hospital, and Terminal 3 was closed for several hours.
Women followed and suitcases stolen
The two women who had arrived from Johannesburg later went to the airport taxi forecourt, where they were followed by the group. Judge Inyundo said it became clear the men “had a particular and determined interest” in their suitcases. He told the defendants: “Your group followed and confronted the pair who tried to get a taxi. “Your group threatened violence to them and took the suitcases from them.” One of the women was then sprayed directly in the face with CS gas at close range, causing her to cough and choke. The stolen suitcases were never recovered. The incident triggered significant disruption across Heathrow, with Terminal 3 locked down and passengers facing delays to trains, shuttle buses and other airport services.
Originally published by UKNIP.
