A gang of five men has been jailed for using dating apps like Grindr to deceive victims into meeting them, only to violently assault them and steal their belongings, according to West Midlands Police.
Demalji Hadza, 21, Abubaker Alezawy, 21, Ali Hassan, 20, Wasim Omar, 24, and Mohammed Sharif, 22, pretended to be legitimate individuals to entice their victims.
Over a period of 10 months, the group conspired and planned robberies in Birmingham, resulting in the theft of over £100,000. The crimes took place at Golden Hillock Park in South Birmingham and in Derby city centre between 2023 and 2024.
The gang appeared in Birmingham Crown Court on Monday and received sentences ranging from 12 to 17 years. Hadza was sentenced to 16 years and two months, Alezawy to 16 years and five months, Hassan to 16 years and nine months, Omar to 17 years and three months, and Sharif to 12 years and three months.
Hadza and Alezawy pleaded guilty on the second day of the trial, while Hassan, Omar, and Sharif were found guilty on 17 September last year after a six-week trial. The gang used dating apps like Grindr to convince their victims they were meeting genuine individuals.
Once trapped, the victims were violently assaulted and had their belongings stolen. During their captivity, the gang used the victims’ phones to transfer large sums of money out of their bank accounts.
In addition to stealing wallets, house keys, and identification documents, the gang threatened their victims with weapons before leaving