'Faeces-throwing' Thames Estuary cargo ship stowaways guilty

The Grande Tema set sail from Lagos in Nigeria and was bound for Tilbury in Essex

Four stowaways accused of throwing faeces in a 14-hour stand off on a container ship 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.

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 3 January.

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 international merchant ship, the 78,000 tonne Grande Tema, voyaging 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.

'Get weapons'

But five days later they broke out and 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."

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.

He said: "For me, these guys could be terrorists, Boko Haram, I don't know.

"My problem is if these guys have put something in a part of the vessel and after are going to come and get weapons."