An Albanian man has been jailed and will be deported after his sentence after admitting a string of sexual assaults on buses.

Giorge Zhukas, 47, will be imprisoned for 18 months and placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years after pleading guilty to nine counts of sexual assault at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday (January 8).

It was also ruled by the court that the Albanian national should be deported after serving his sentence.

The court heard that Zhukas sexually assaulted nine females, aged between 13 and 43, on buses in Walthamstow and Ilford between August 11 and October 16 last year.

In four of the offences the quality of the CCTV was of such high quality, that the Crown Prosecution Service authorised charging, even though the victim had not been identified.

The Roads and Transport Policing Command Reactive Investigations Team led the investigation and obtained CCTV footage from the bus, which led to Zhukas being identified and arrested on October 20 last year.

He was charged on November 11 and appeared at Bow Magistrates' Court the following day.

Detective Superintendent Adnan Qureshi, Roads and Transport Policing Command, said: "I commend these victims, some of whom were teenagers, for having the courage to come forward and report these appalling crimes.

"Thanks to their selfless actions, this despicable individual has received a lengthy prison sentence and deportation upon his release, which I hope reassures others to come forward in similar circumstances with information that can assist with a conviction.

"The Roads and Transport Policing Command is committed to tackling all sexual offences committed on London's buses and bringing offenders to justice."

The investigation was part of Project Guardian - a multi-agency initiative involving the Metropolitan Police Service, British Transport Police, City of London Police and Transport for London.

Siwan Hayward, Transport for London's (TfL) Deputy Director of Enforcement and On-Street Operations, said: "We care about our passengers and every journey they make on our transport network.

“We, alongside the police, are committed to tackling any form of unwanted sexual behaviour on our network.

“Thanks to the bravery of these victims in reporting these offences, the police were able to investigate and positively identify Zhukas, and push for the toughest penalty available.

"We encourage all victims of these crimes to report any instances to the police, your report will be taken seriously and investigated."