Police who nailed a brutal Grindr robbery gang said they hoped the thugs’ lengthy jail terms would give other victims of crime to come forward. The five defendants were jailed for more than 80 years after they degraded and humiliated a string of victims.
Demalji Hadza, 21, Abubaker Alezawy, 21, Ali Hassan, 20, Wasim Omar, 24, and Mohammed Sharif, 22, stole around £100,000 over a ten-month period. The offences took place in at Golden Hillock Park in Small Heath and in Derby city centre.
West Midlands Police said the thugs preyed on members of the LGBTQ+ community in the hope of finding ‘easy targets’ on the dating app. During one attack, one man was made to shout ‘I like to f*** girls’ around 100 times before he had nearly £17,000 stolen from him.
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On Monday, January 13, the gang were handed sentences ranging from 12 to 17 years at Birmingham Crown Court. Det Con Sarah Byrne, who headed the investigation, appealed to anyone who may feeling too ashamed or scared to contact them.
She said they would be treated sensitively and supported during the process. She said: “Convicting these individuals would have never been possible without the victims’ bravery in sharing their accounts with the police and court. We hope that seeing these individuals being held to account for their actions will bring closure for the victims.
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“I would encourage anyone who has been subject to a similar ordeal to come forward and report it to police. All reports will be dealt with sensitively and victims will be supported by specially-trained officers.”
The gang also relied on the good nature of helpful members of the public by pretending to be injured in order to trick the victims into helping them, police said. In one incident, the group pretended their car had broken down in Derby, and when two innocent members of the public went to assist them in good faith, they were assaulted and robbed.
The defendants were sentenced to:
- Demalji Hadza – 16 years and two months
- Abubaker Alezawy – 16 years and five months
- Ali Hassan – 16 years and nine months
- Wasim Omar – 17 years and three months
- Mohammed Sharif – 12 years and three months
Hadza and Alezawy pleaded guilty on day two of the trial, while Hassan, Omar and Sharif were found guilty on September 17 last year, following a six-week trial.