Charles Brohiri has allegedly been apprehended without a ticket at numerous stations across the Thameslink, Southern, and Great Northern networks.

Brohiri appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (Apil 30) afternoon for sentencing, having previously been convicted in his absence on 36 counts of travelling on the railway without paying.

The 28-year-old rapper,also known as Rvre Dean on social media, told the court he was homeless, did not own a mobile phone, and could only access the internet via public libraries.

Gareth Ring, prosecuting on behalf of Thameslink, told the magistrates: “At 8.16 this morning, Mr Brohiri was stopped on one of our trains without a valid ticket.”

Mr Ring presented a dossier to the court containing details of 180 prior incidents where Brohiri had been caught without a ticket at Thameslink stations or aboard its services.

He added that the 28-year-old “owes the court an awful lot of money.”

This incident underscores the challenges faced by rail operators in curbing fare evasion. Transport for London (TFL) has been intensifying efforts to combat such offences, reporting over 19,500 prosecutions for fare evasion last year, a 50% increase from 2022. The rise is attributed to improved detection technologies, including the Irregular Travel Analysis Platform (ITAP), which identifies patterns of fare evasion through ticketing and passenger data.

In response to the growing issue, TFL has increased the penalty fare from £80 to £100. Siwan Hayward, TfL’s Director of Security, Policing and Enforcement, emphasised that fare evasion is a criminal offence that deprives Londoners of vital investment in safe and reliable transport. She noted that disputes over fares are a precursor to approximately half of all reported work-related violence and aggression incidents towards frontline staff.

Other rail operators are also taking action. Greater Anglia reported that more than 500 fare dodgers were ordered to pay over £42,000 in fines and costs after being caught without tickets . Additionally, a TikTok user who shared tips on evading train fares was fined £770 and now has a criminal record after being prosecuted for fare evasion.

These cases highlight the financial impact of fare evasion on the rail industry and the measures being implemented to deter such behaviour.

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