Thames Estuary cargo ship stowaways 'threw urine and faeces'

Four stowaways tried to hijack a container ship and threatened to kill the crew in a desperate bid to reach Britain, a court has heard.

The men, from Nigeria and Liberia, allegedly armed themselves with metal poles and threw faeces onboard the ship in the Thames Estuary in December.

Samuel Jolumi, 27, Ishola Sunday, 28, Toheeb Popoola, 27, and Joberto McGee, 20, deny attempting to hijack the ship.

They were on the lower deck for a number of days and when the crew discovered them, they were placed into quarantine, jurors heard.

But Mr Badenoch said: "Five days later they broke free from the room in which they had been detained, and threatened to kill the crew members whilst making demands that the ship should make its way to the United Kingdom.

"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."
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-49843804