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Chemist denies urine attack on shops
An Algerian chemist who is accused of waging a urine and faeces-spraying campaign at two supermarkets, a pub and a book shop claims he was simply going about his daily routine.
Despite witnesses saying Sahnoun Daifallah, 42, reeked of the noxious substance, he claims the brown substance found over frozen chips and wine in Tesco and Morrisons had nothing to do with him.
Daifallah is accused of causing 700,000 worth of damage by squirting a brown, foul-smelling substance from a spray container at four businesses in Gloucestershire on May 14 and 16 2008.
Daifallah, who has chosen to represent himself at Bristol Crown Court, is alleged to have sprayed the mixture in the Air Balloon pub, near Cheltenham, on May 14 before moving on to Waterstones in Cirencester where it was found all over a toilet.
Staff noticed the smell but it was not until after he had left the store that they discovered a 20 metre area of 38 shelves, from the classics to the children's section, had been doused in the foul substance.
In total, 706 books were contaminated, most of them in the children's section.
Daifallah, when questioned by prosecutor Stephen Dent today, claimed he was in Tesco in Quedgley two days later to buy wine and meat but then decided to travel four miles to Morrisons in Abbeydale to complete his shopping.
Shoppers and staff at both stores saw Daifallah with a black lap top computer bag which had a vapour coming from it which was spraying on to the shelves.
Tesco was closed for two days while it was cleaned and the cost of the damage came to 421,000.
He claimed the bag, which had had holes cut out of it for the container to fit inside with an opening for the nozzle, had been bought from a charity shop with the adaptations already made.
He maintains that several bottles of urine and faeces found in his kitchen were not his, along with sachets of excrement each labelled with the name of a city - Bristol, Cheltenham, Birmingham, Worcester, Cardiff and Gloucester.
Police also found messages scrawled all over the walls referring to what the prosecution say are fantasies about biological weapons.
One of the messages said: "The ants get out to every direction to get food, then they bring it back to Tesco and Asda.
"If you poison those then you kill the ants."
Others referred to uranium being smuggled into Britain and micro-organisms being spread.
Daifallah claims they were written by other people who used his flat whenever they liked.
A map of Gloucester with Contaminated 83 per cent Ammonia written on it was also found in his bedroom.
Daifallah, of Bibury Road, Gloucester, has pleaded not guilty to four charges of contaminating goods and two charges of damaging property at Waterstones and Morrisons.
He also denies possession of material to contaminate goods and having an offensive weapon, namely a catapult with marbles.
Before the jury were sent out to consider their verdicts this afternoon, Daifallah, who is originally from Algeria and has a degree in industrial chemistry, was given a chance to address them from the dock.
He said: "I was present in those shops but I still say I was not contaminating or spraying.
"I'm not an expert in how to convince you but that is my case."
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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