Amer Fareed
(Picture: Met Police)A serial arsonist responsible for more than two dozen fires in Newham has been jailed.
Amer Fareed, 29, of Sprowston Road, Newham, was jailed for three and a half years at Snaresbrook Crown Court on July 1 after pleading guilty to arson, possession of cannabis and endangering life.
Fareed started fires in bins, skips, cars and shops with flats above them in Forest Gate.
Detective Phil Moor, who led the investigation, said: “I am pleased that Fareed is now behind bars as it was only a matter of time before his reckless fire starting led to someone suffering serious harm, or worse.
“I would like to thank the London Fire Brigade for bringing this to our attention when they identified a spike in fires in the Forest Gate area, which significantly increased the demand upon them.
“This was a protracted investigation, which involved hundreds of hours of CCTV trawling, which we then corroborated with phones and travel cards attributed to Fareed.
“I would like to recognise the exceptional work of Detective Constable Ravi Raja Rayan, who demonstrated excellent detective work when analysing large volumes of phone data, CCTV and other material. The overwhelming evidence we gathered against Fareed left him with no choice but to plead guilty.”
Chris Jenner, the Station Commander at Stratford Fire Station, said: “This case is a great example of how working closely with our partners in the Metropolitan Police Service has helped to make people in Forest Gate safer.
“From the quick thinking crews who raised concerns about the spate of fires they were seeing, to the work London Fire Brigade carried out alongside the Met, it was strong partnership working that ultimately led to this conviction.
“Many of these fires could easily have put people’s lives at risk and we are pleased to have been able to play a role in bringing the person responsible to justice.”
