Four men have admitted affray during which a noxious substance was sprayed at Heathrow Airport, leaving 21 people needing medical treatment.
Tyrone Richards, 31, Anton Clarke-Butcher, 25, Omoneke Whyte, 30, and Denzel Eduardo, 28, all pleaded guilty to affray on Tuesday at Isleworth Crown Court after the incident on December 7 last year.
Ambulance staff treated 21 people who had been hit with the CS spray in a multi-storey car park at terminal three of the west London airport.
Five of those treated were taken to hospital, London Ambulance Service previously said.
CS spray is a man-made chemical used by UK police forces to temporarily incapacitate people in a similar way to pepper spray.
Prosecutor Mark Trafford KC told the court: “In the course of this affray, it is accepted by these defendants that CS gas was used and discharged in and outside of the airport, as a result of which two suitcases were taken from the complainants.”
Judge Kwame Inyundo said he understood the incident had caused “injury” to the complainants in the case as well as the wider public, and had affected the functioning of the airport at the time.
The Metropolitan Police previously said armed officers had been called to the scene and the incident was not treated as terrorism.
Passengers leaving and travelling to the airport faced disruption afterwards, including delays to shuttlebuses and trains.
According to the UK Health Security Agency, CS gas is an irritant which can cause a burning sensation in the eyes, chest tightness, coughing and sneezing.
It is one of the substances which is sometimes referred to as tear gas.
The four defendants will be sentenced on September 11 at the same court.
