Four Spanish nationals who flew into the UK specifically to graffiti London Underground trains have been fined and handed suspended prison sentences. The group caused thousands of pounds in damage by spray-painting murals on a Northern line train in High Barnet.
Arrests at Stansted Airport
Asier Dorado-Alosete, 21, Javier Martinez-Lopez, 30, Juan Palomino Andres-Cabanas, 22, and Galo Adrian Romero-Valle, 21, trespassed on live railway lines in the early hours of Wednesday, July 8. Transport for London staff spotted the vandalism on CCTV and alerted police. Officers found Romero-Valle and Andres-Cabanas nearby; their phones contained evidence of a separate incident in Amersham that same night. The other two men, Dorado-Alosete and Martinez-Lopez, were arrested at Stansted Airport as they attempted to board a flight home.
Court Sentences and Compensation
At Highbury Magistrates' Court on Saturday, July 11, all four received five-year criminal behaviour orders and were fined £187 each. Romero-Valle and Andres-Cabanas were ordered to pay £972 in compensation to Transport for London. Martinez-Lopez and Romero-Valle received 12-month prison sentences suspended for 24 months, while Dorado-Alosete and Andres-Cabanas were sentenced to 10 months suspended for 12 months. Additionally, Romero-Valle pleaded guilty to possessing a Category A indecent image of a child found on his phone.
Police Warning on Trespassing Dangers
BTP Sergeant Phil Osafo said: '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 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.' He added that stepping on tracks is extremely dangerous and urged witnesses to report criminal damage to BTP by texting 61016.
