London lawyer ‘injected groceries with his blood’ at three stores, court told

A lawyer injected food at multiple grocery stores with syringes filled with his own blood, a court has heard, in an “insane” rampage.

A lawyer injected food products at multiple London grocery stores with syringes filled with his own blood, a court has heard, in what was described as an “insane” rampage that caused nearly $A1 million in damage.

Leoaai Elghareeb carried a bucket full of syringes as he walked down a stretch of Fulham Palace Road in Fulham, west London, last August, before entering Tesco, Sainsbury’s Local and Waitrose respectively and contaminating the food.

“In the early evening of a late summer’s day last year, Mr Elghareeb walked down the Fulham Palace Road in west London carrying a bucket. It was filled with syringes, some of which had hypodermic needles attached,” prosecutor Philip Stott said.

“A number of those syringes were filled with blood – his own.”

Isleworth Crown Court heard that the 37-year-old injected blood into apples and a packet of chicken tikka fillets at Waitrose, forcing staff to shut down the store as a safety precaution.

Lawyer Leoaai Elghareeb is accused of injecting blood into supermarket products in the UK. Picture: Nigel Howard

In the nearby Sainsbury’s Local, he allegedly contaminated packets of meat and ready meals, before pelting customers and staff with eggs and assaulting a security guard, the court heard.

The director of Opus Legal Contractors then allegedly injected more food in a Tesco Express, where he also supposedly threw a plant pot at a waiter before he was arrested by police.

Along the way, Mr Stott said, he also allegedly “threw some of the syringes at people inside and outside the stores including hitting a passer-by on the street”.

That passer-by – Dr Meghana Kulkarni – said she “felt uncomfortable” as Mr Elghareeb approached, Mr Stott said, because he was “staring” at her and “seemed aggressive”.

“She moved out into the road and passed him walking along the road as he walked on the pavement,” he said.

“As the defendant passed her, he threw a syringe at her, hitting her in the chest. Fortunately the syringe had no needle attached to it, and it just bounced off her without causing injuries.”

Police officers in forensic suits outside Tesco Express on Fulham Palace Road. Picture: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire

Evidence bags marked as a health hazard and containing produce injected with Mr Elghareeb’s blood. Picture: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire

When confronted by staff at the grocery stores for his behaviour, “he assaulted one of them by pushing him, in addition to throwing verbal insults at those around him”, Mr Stott told the court.

Waitrose worker George Bruce told the court Mr Elghareeb was throwing things in his direction, noting that he looked “very tired”, like he “hadn’t slept for days”.

Mr Elghareeb allegedly called Sainsbury’s security guard Bilal Ansari “vile”, before shouting: “Sainsbury’s is vile.”

Mr Ansari also told the court he witnessed the lawyer screaming, “Why are you looking at me you fat b*tch?” before throwing an egg at another customer.

Mr Stott said that all three businesses “thoroughly searched their stores and then had them deep-cleaned before they were able to reopen”.

All three businesses had to be deep-cleaned after the alleged incident. Picture: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire

A total of 21 syringes were recovered, and the bill totalled $A883,951, costing Sainsbury’s $270,641, Waitrose $391,815 and Tesco $221,434.

Mr Stott said Mr Elghareeb is not likely to dispute that he was the man with the syringe-filled bucket, and will offer “no contest” to the factual allegations.

“The defence that is likely to be placed before you is that Mr Elghareeb was, in the legal sense, insane at the time of those acts,” he said.

“That is to say, the defence will call to give evidence before you psychiatric experts who have examined the defendant and have concluded that, while the defendant is fit to stand trial now, at the time of these events, he was suffering from a disease of the mind so as not to know the nature and quality of the acts he was doing was wrong.”

Mr Elghareeb has pleaded not guilty to three charges of contaminating food and two charges of assault by beating.

The trial continues.