Muslim gang jailed after targeting Gay men in violent scam
Grindr gang who used gay dating app to target and rob men of £100,000 are jailed for almost 80 years
The armed gang behind a
Grindr plot which targeted men on the dating app before robbing them of thousands of pounds have received jail sentences totalling almost 80 years.
Over a ten-month period between 2023 and 2024, the five-member crew lured unsuspecting men to supposed dates using the gay dating app.
However the robbers, their faces hidden behind masks, would then brutally attack the men and steal their belongings.
The robberies occurred across
Birmingham and Derby, with the gang also staging a number of car breakdowns to coax passersby into a trap before robbing them.
Victims were left with broken eye sockets, a dislocated shoulder and a broken nose as well as other injuries, many of which required hospital treatment.
Birmingham Crown Court was shown footage of the thugs pretending to have mechanical issues with their car in Derby before attacking the Good Samaritans who came to lend a hand.
The court also heard the intricacies of their Grindr scam, where men would be held for hours in fear for their lives before their phones were used to transfer large sums of money.
The five men also stole vehicles and house keys from some of their targets, threatening to stab them with large weapons if they did not comply.
CCTV footage also captured the gang using some victim's bank cards to withdraw cash from ATMs and shops, even celebrating after getting their hands on the cash.
The gang also went to great lengths to disguise their identities as they committed their crimes, and often would wear masks or push the faces of victims into the ground to stop them from looking at them.
Following a lengthy investigation by West Midlands Police, the gang were finally apprehended last year.
The armed gang behind a Grindr plot which robbed men of £100,000 have received jail sentences totalling almost 80 years. Threatening to stab victims, the men also stole vehicles and house keys.
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Detectives who had trawled through dozens of hours of CCTV footage and analysed the gang's phone and bank records in order to build a formidable case against its members.
On Monday, after being found guilty of the robberies last September, the five person gang was jailed for a combined 78 years and ten months.
Wasim Omar, 24, was jailed for 17 years and three months, with Ali Hassan, 20, and Abubaker Alezawy, 21, being sentenced to 16 years and nine months and 16 years and five months respectively.
Demalji Hadza, 21, was sentenced to 16 years and two months while Mohammed Sharif, 22, was jailed for 12 years and three months.