Four men and one woman have been jailed for a total of 81 years for preying on vulnerable girls
Five members of a grooming gang jailed for a total of 81 years(Image: North Wales Police)
A gang of four men and one women who sexually exploited three teenage girls in has been sentenced to a combined total of 81 years behind bars. A judge said they thought their victims were “easy prey”.
Their victims were aged just 14, 15, and 16 when the gang identified them, groomed them with drugs and alcohol and took advantage of them. The ringleader, Mustafa Iqbal, has now been jailed for 35 years after being convicted of 21 offences including four rapes. A judge told him he possessed an “apparently uncontrollable” and “voracious” sexual appetite.
One of his associates – Sarah Gray – “sold her soul” to him in exchange for cocaine, allowing him to rape one of the victims at her home. The remaining gang members were Mohamed Arshad, Jaswinder Singh and Ziaullah Badshah.
The four men inflicted severe psychological damage upon the three victims. After a trial, they were were convicted last month of offences relating to the exploitation and abuse of three teenage girls in Rhyl and the surrounding area between April 2022 and March 2024, reports North Wales Live.
Jurors heard during the four-month trial at Caernarfon Crown Court how they plied the children with alcohol and drugs before raping and assaulting them. Owen Edwards KC, prosecuting, said Iqbal had come across two girls wandering the streets of Rhyl while under the influence of cannabis in March 2022.
He brought them back to his home and alerted his two associates, Arshad and Badshah. The girls claimed they were 17 and 16, however one later revealed their true ages to be 15 and 14. The girls were offered cannabis during a spin the bottle game that involved kissing. The abuse quickly developed.
Further contact took place and police launched an investigation in 2022, though no further action was taken against the defendants at that point.
After jailing Iqbal and his co-defendants, Judge Simon Mills said he meant no criticism of North Wales Police, but there should be “reflection”.
He said: “There should be some reflection – hindsight is a wonderful thing – on the failure to take action. There should be some consideration as to whether any more could have been done to protect these children. I’m not being critical because hindsight is a wonderful thing and there was more evidence that came to light subsequently.”
In November 2023, Iqbal encountered another girl aged 16. Iqbal “made his sexual interest in her obvious” and she called him a “nonce”. Yet within days she had entered into a relationship in which she exchanged sex for cocaine. Mr Edwards said: “She was in effect a sex slave.”
An adult acquainted with her alerted the authorities. Iqbal was arrested on 17 January 2024, with police discovering he was in possession of a sex toy and a weapon — a noxious gas canister, the court heard.
In February 2024, Iqbal received a warning to cease all contact with the 16 year old girl. Despite this, he changed his phone, vehicle and address, relocating his subsequent sexual encounters with her to either Sarah Gray’s home in Gronant or his own property.
On one occasion, Iqbal restrained the girl with handcuffs and raped her “forcefully”, Mr Edwards told the court. Subsequently, Sarah Gray laundered the bedding to destroy forensic evidence. However, the girl alerted police and provided them with underwear containing DNA which she had preserved following Iqbal’s final rape of her.
Police apprehended all the defendants on 7 August 2025 and discovered Iqbal had been in contact with another girl, aged 17.
Louisa Robertson, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Iqbal, Arshad and Badshah sexually exploited these children using alcohol and drugs to coerce them.
“Singh and Gray were complicit in the exploitation of vulnerable girls. The victims of these shocking crimes showed great courage in speaking out against their abusers, and it is through their strength that we have brought all the offenders charged to justice.”
Iqbal and his associate Arshad, who was not involved in drug dealing, “revelled in the ease with which they could exploit” the first 15 year old girl.
One co-defendant complained Ziaullah Badshah was “getting more than his fair share of sexual activity (with her)”, Mr Edwards revealed.
Tim Naylor, representing Iqbal, said: “He is someone who wants to impress others. He wants to be liked – traits which have led him into poor decision making.”
A trained chef who “descended into drug dealing”, he has “some insight” into his crimes, said Mr Naylor. “He knows he will have to serve a considerable part of his life in prison. He will miss a large part of his children’s development.”
Graeme James, representing Arshad, told the court his client would not have become involved with the 15 year old had he been aware of her age, claiming he believed she was 17. However, the judge noted the jury had rejected Arshad’s account.
Simon Killeen, acting for Badshah, said a probation officer had described him as easily influenced and possessing his own vulnerabilities.
Duncan Bould, defending Singh, stated that his client acknowledges his association with the two girls was “inappropriate”, and that Singh accepted supplying them with cannabis.
“He is a lonely and socially isolated person” who had a “devastating commitment to alcohol”, the court was told.
Bould also highlighted that Singh has a “significant disability”, urging the judge to consider the difficulties he would face while incarcerated.
Gareth Bellis, defending Gray, argued she falls into a different category from her co-defendants. The Manchester grandmother had previously struggled with crack cocaine addiction.
She had travelled to North Wales in an attempt to escape both her drug dependency and exploitative relationships, but had “slipped back” into drug use, where she encountered Iqbal’s drug runner and subsequently Iqbal himself. Bellis described Gray as a “minion” of Iqbal.
His Honour Judge Simon Mills condemned the defendants in the strongest terms, stating that each male defendant had participated in trips to Manchester or London, targeting the 15 and 14 year old girls as “easy prey”, while further offences took place in North Wales.
Turning to Iqbal directly, the judge declared: “I have no doubt you are a dangerous offender (and) you pose a serious risk to young girls.”
Mustafa Iqbal, 43, of Trellewelyn Road, Rhyl, was found guilty of four counts of rape, three counts of conspiracy to require a person to perform compulsory labour, three counts of sexual assault, three counts of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, two counts of conspiracy to traffic, conspiracy to supply cannabis to another, conspiracy to supply cocaine to another, supplying cannabis to another, arranging or facilitating the travel of another person with a view to exploitation, and breaching a slavery/trafficking risk order.
He was handed a 30-year custodial sentence for each offence of rape and trafficking for sexual exploitation. He must serve two thirds of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole, with concurrent sentences imposed for his remaining offences.
Mohamed Usman Arshad, 36, of Clifton Grove, Rhyl, was found guilty of three counts of rape, two counts of conspiracy to traffic, two counts of conspiracy to require a person to perform compulsory labour, and supplying cannabis to another.
He received a 19-year sentence for trafficking and 12 years each for three counts of rape, to run concurrently, with further concurrent sentences for his remaining offences. Ziaullah Badshah, 25, of Brighton Road, Rhyl, was convicted of two counts of rape, two counts of conspiracy to traffic, two counts of conspiracy to require a person to perform compulsory labour and supplying cannabis to another.
He received a 17-year custodial sentence for trafficking, with additional concurrent sentences for the remaining offences.
Jaswinder Singh, 61, of River Street, Rhyl, was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to traffic and one count of supplying cannabis to another.
He was handed an eight-year prison term for trafficking, with concurrent sentences imposed for the other offences.
Sarah Gray, 53, of Llanasa Road, Gronant, also faced multiple charges relating to her involvement in the offending.
She was found guilty of perverting the course of justice, assisting an offender, conspiracy to supply cocaine to another and conspiracy to supply cannabis to another.
She was sentenced to seven years for a drugs offence and an additional year for perverting the course of justice, with concurrent sentences handed down for the remaining charges.
Outside court, senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Richard Sidney, of North Wales Police, said: “The conclusion of this case marks an important moment for the three victims, who have had to live with the consequences of what happened to them for a considerable period of time and continue to do so.
“The sentences imposed today reflect the gravity of the group’s offending and the very serious nature of the crimes committed against these young women.
“These investigations were complex and involved extensive work to understand what had happened, gather evidence, and ensure those responsible were brought before the court.
“I recognise that the criminal justice process can be incredibly difficult for victims of sexual exploitation, particularly when they are required to revisit traumatic experiences. The courage shown by the victims throughout these investigations and the trial that followed has been remarkable.
“I hope that today’s outcome provides them with some sense of justice and allows them to look towards the future with greater confidence.
“Our message to those who target children for sexual exploitation is clear: we will investigate, we will pursue the evidence, and we will work with our partners to hold offenders to account.
“I would also like to thank everyone involved in this investigation, including our specialist officers and staff, partner agencies and the prosecution team, whose work has been instrumental in securing these convictions and sentences.”
