The scandal of children being groomed for sexual exploitation by groups of South Asian men was brought to light by the Daily Mail 15 years ago. Since then, nearly 400 offenders have been successfully prosecuted for their crimes.
In Rochdale specifically, eight networks primarily consisting of men of Pakistani descent have been found guilty of targeting predominantly white girls in the early 2000s. Additionally, 20 more individuals are currently awaiting trial for similar offenses.
Recent cases which underline the scale of the scourge in a string of Britain’s towns and cities include:
THE MARKET STALL GANG
Just last Friday, seven men were convicted of sexually exploiting and raping two white schoolgirls in Rochdale.
The main orchestrator of these heinous acts, Mohammed Zahid, aged 64, was familiarly known as ‘Knickerman’ due to his association with an underwear stand in Rochdale’s historic market. Zahid, a despicable father of three, exploited his business as a means to prey on vulnerable youngsters, initiating the grooming process when the victims were as young as 13 years old.
Mohammed Zahid (left), (top left to right) Roheez Khan, Nisar Hussain, Naheem Akram, (bottom left to right) Mushtaq Ahmed, Kasir Bashir and Mohammed Shahzad
Between 2001 and 2006 they were treated as ‘sex slaves’, a trial in Manchester heard, with Zahid passing them on to paedophile taxi drivers in return for payment where they were subjected to further abuse.
As well as Zahid, Mushtaq Ahmed, 67, Kasir Bashir, 50 – who is on the run after absconding – Mohammed Shahzad, 44, Naheem Akram, 48, Nisar Hussain, 41, and Roheez Khan, 39, all face lengthy prison sentences.
THE TAKEAWAY BROTHERS
Three brothers who used a ‘dingy’ flat above a takeaway in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, to groom and abuse underage
girls were jailed earlier this year.
Shaha Amran Miah, 49, Shaha Alman Miah, 47, and Shaha Joman Miah, 38, were all convicted of a string of sexual offences against teenage girls between 2008 and 2010. They were jailed for a total of 54 years.
(Left to right) The takeaway brothers Shaha Joman Miah, Shaha Amran Miah and Shaha Alman Miah were jailed for abusing girls
THE CHILDREN’S HOME GANG
Seven men who committed a string of child-sex abuse offences against two teenage girls in Rotherham were jailed for a total of 106 years last September.
(Top row, left to right) Abid Saddiq, Mohammed Amar, Mohammed Siyab, Mohammed Zameer Sadiq, and (bottom row, left to right) Ramin Bari, Tahir Yassin, Yasser Ajaibe
At times the victims were collected by their abusers from children’s homes. Mohammed Amar, 42, Mohammed Siyab, 44, Yasser Ajaibe, 39, Mohammed Sadiq, 49, Abid Saddiq, 43, Tahir Yassin, 38, and Ramin Bari, 37, were handed sentences of between six and 25 years.
It brought the number of men to face justice in Operation Stovewood – the largest investigation of its kind undertaken in the UK – to 36. It was launched after the Jay Report found that at least 1,400 girls were abused by gangs of men of mainly Pakistani heritage in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.
