BTP arrest man in connection to over £100,000 graffiti damage to railway – London

A 30-year-old man from Lambeth has been arrested on suspicion of 46 counts of criminal damage following a British Transport Police investigation.

His arrest was made in connection to significant graffiti damage on the railway across London and the South East, occurring between September 2020 and June 2021.

The crimes caused around £110,000 worth of damage to railway property, including stations and train depots.  

Officers from BTP’s specialist search unit and graffiti team carried out the raids at two addresses on Wednesday 16 June, one in South London and the other located in Kent, as well as searching a vehicle.

The man, also arrested on suspicion of possession of class A and class B drugs, has been released on bail until July pending further investigation.

British Transport Police has a team dedicated to tackling graffiti on the railway. Officers carry out proactive patrols and specialised operations to target and arrest offenders, including the use of wide-reaching CCTV across the network to identify suspects.

BTP Chief Inspector, Stuart Middlemas, said: “Investigations like these are paramount to BTP’s mission to tackle graffiti across the network.

“The vandalism goes far beyond just looking unsightly, it has huge financial implications for the rail industry and causes frustrating delays to passengers while trains are taken out of service to be cleaned.

“Not only this, offenders are also putting their lives at risk by trespassing on the railway, which can have life-changing or fatal consequences.

“It will not be tolerated and we will continue to run dedicated operations to target this type of crime.”