A man has been charged with murder after a huge police operation saw a ferry and its passengers held in port for more than 10 hours.
Passengers were stranded on the vessel after the lengthy search saw officers force the DFDS ship to return to the Port of Dover on Tuesday morning, shortly after departing for Calais.
The Met Police has now confirmed detectives have charged 22-year-old Peshman Ahmedi with the murder of Tyler Hayward, who was reportedly stabbed in Chingford on Sunday.
Ahmedi, who was arrested on the ship on Tuesday evening, will appear in custody at Willesden Magistrates’ Court in north west London today.
A murder investigation was launched after officers were called to reports of a stabbing in Chingford Mount Road, where 26-year-old Mr Hayward died at the scene.
Det Ch Insp Rebecca Woodsford, who is leading the investigation from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, thanked the members of the public for their patience during the operation earlier this week.
She added: “The thoughts of the investigation team remain with Tyler’s family and our specially trained officers continue to support them at this difficult time.
“Since Sunday, we have been making extensive inquiries and this resulted in searches being carried out at the Port of Dover.
“I’d like to thank Kent Police and other agencies for their support as we carried out these checks, as well as members of the public who were disrupted while this vital work took place.”
Passengers told KentOnline the boat set off about half an hour after its scheduled departure of 10.40am.
But 20 minutes into the crossing to Calais, it turned back around to Dover.
Many claimed both they and the staff were in the dark about what was going on, though the ferry set off for Calais at about 8.40pm.
