Metropolitan Police officer stand outside a Tesco inside a police cordon on February 7, 2021 in London, England.
Metropolitan Police officer stand outside a Tesco inside a police cordon on February 7, 2021 in London, England.
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  • A lawyer has appeared in court after being accused of injecting blood into food in London grocery stores.
  • The court was told that Leoaai Elghareeb was a "man of previous good character."
  • London's Metropolitan Police urged shoppers to throw away any food purchased from the three stores.
  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

A lawyer accused of injecting blood into food at grocery stores in London appeared in court on Friday.

Leoaai Elghareeb, 37, has been charged with contaminating or interfering with goods with intent at three supermarket stores in Fulham, west London, The Guardian reported.

Prosecutor Jennifer Garland said that on Wednesday, the defendant entered a Sainsbury's Local, a Tesco Express, and a Little Waitrose and injected food items with blood, the paper said.

Elghareeb did not enter a plea when he appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

The court heard that the lawyer entered the Waitrose store at 7:30pm on Wednesday with syringes of blood and began injecting food items, The Guardian said.

He went to a nearby Sainsbury store, where he injected more items and threw eggs, it is alleged.

Finally, he entered a Tesco Express store and injected more food items before being arrested.

London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement that they were called to the scene over reports that a man was shouting abuse at people in the street.

The court was told that Elghareeb is a solicitor who ran his own legal consultancy business and was a "man of previous good character," The Guardian said.

On Thursday, London's Metropolitan Police released a statement urging shoppers to throw away any food purchased from the three stores as a precaution.

On Thursday, police officers in forensic suits were pictured in the shops on Fulham Palace Road, removing various food items, including processed meat packs.

The blood contents in the syringes were not immediately clear, The Guardian said, and the police have sent the affected food items for chemical testing.

Elghareeb was remanded in custody, according to The Guardian and he will appear at Isleworth Crown Court for a plea hearing on September 24.

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