Teen who spat at Tube worker jailed after being identified by his saliva

Ross McGuinness
·2-min read
Hasib Rahimi. British Transport Police officers used forensics to trace a man after he spat a member of railway staff on the London Underground. See SWNS story SWNNspit. Investigators identified Hasib Rahimi through his saliva, he was soon arrested and has since been jailed for 10 weeks. Rahimi, 19, had entered Northwick Park on Tuesday 7 July 2020 and asked for free travel after claiming he had lost his travel pass. When he was told no, he angrily dialled the police and handed the phone to the staff member. The victim told the operator there was no emergency, ended the call and then was spat at by Rahimi. The case was investigated by BTP’s dedicated London Underground staff assaults team. They used a sample of Rahmi’s spit to identify and ultimately arrest him.
Hasib Rahimi was indentified by his saliva after spitting at a Tube worker. (SWNS)

A teenager who spat at a London Underground worker has been jailed after being identified through his saliva.

Hasib Rahimi, 19, was jailed for 10 weeks after pleading guilty to common assault at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court earlier this month.

Investigators identified him from his spit and he was tracked down and arrested.

(Google)
The incident happened at Northwick Park Tube station in London. (Google)

On 7 July last year, Rahimi entered Northwick Park Tube station in north-west London and asked for a free journey, claiming he had lost his travel pass.

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When a worker at the station refused his request, Rahimi called police and handed his phone to the member of staff.

When the Tube worker told the operator there was no emergency and ended the call, they were spat at by Rahimi.

The offence was deemed particularly serious as it occurred during the coronavirus pandemic.

British Transport Police used a sample of Rahimi’s spit to identify him from his DNA.

Hasib Rahimi. British Transport Police officers used forensics to trace a man after he spat a member of railway staff on the London Underground. See SWNS story SWNNspit. Investigators identified Hasib Rahimi through his saliva, he was soon arrested and has since been jailed for 10 weeks. Rahimi, 19, had entered Northwick Park on Tuesday 7 July 2020 and asked for free travel after claiming he had lost his travel pass. When he was told no, he angrily dialled the police and handed the phone to the staff member. The victim told the operator there was no emergency, ended the call and then was spat at by Rahimi. The case was investigated by BTP’s dedicated London Underground staff assaults team. They used a sample of Rahmi’s spit to identify and ultimately arrest him.
Hasib Rahimi was jailed for 10 weeks for common assault. (SWNS)

Rahimi, from Colliers Wood, south-west London, pleaded guilty to common assault on 9 April.

As well as a 10-week jail sentence, he was ordered to pay a £128 fine.

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PC Luke Dear, the investigating officer said: “Our team is dedicated to investigating any incidents that disrupt the peace and security of frontline staff on the Underground.

“We use every tool at our disposal to identify and arrest offenders.

"We use forensics, as was the case here, as well as the CCTV in every station, and more recently, the body worn video worn by Transport for London staff, which gives close-up, often indisputable evidence.”

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