Security guard sentenced for forging licence

He was prosecuted for two counts of fraud and one count of possessing documents with an improper purpose, contrary to the Identity Documents Act 2010. Owolabi must now undertake an 18 month community order involving 300 hours of unpaid work. He had been in custody since 07 November 2019​, following an appearance at Westminster Magistrates’ Court at which he pleaded guilty to the offences.

Between April 2016 and November 2017 a security operative, supposedly named Olukayode Obanla, performed the role of security guard at Haringey Sixth Form College in Tottenham. The guard, who was in fact Owolabi, got the job at the college by using an altered SIA licence. He had failed to get a genuine SIA licence of his own, due to relevant criminal convictions which included using false identity documents. 

The investigation began after an anonymous tip off to the Security Industry Authority (SIA) and Haringey Sixth Form College. SIA quickly discovered that the documents Mr Owolabi had used to try and get a licence in his own name were fraudulent. 

SIA said: "For more than a year our investigators pursued Mr Owolabi in order to interview him, but he refused to engage with them. That left us with no choice but to issue a summons to Mr Owalabi’s last known address in West London. He failed to attend Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 06 November, and as a result the court issued a warrant for his arrest. He finally agreed to appear in court on Thursday 07 November, when he was taken into custody."

 Pete Easterbrook, one of SIA's Criminal Investigation Managers, said: “Mr Owolabi pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud in November and was in jail for two months. Friday’s court hearing has resulted in a substantial community order and a criminal record. Mr Owalabi deliberately deceived his employer. He betrayed the trust and jeopardised the safety of vulnerable young people in his care at Haringey Sixth Form College. Mr Owolabi has also undermined our licensing regime through his criminal acts, which is entirely unacceptable. The Court recognised the seriousness of his criminality, and as such Owolabi was remanded in custody for two months and has now received a substantial community order.”