The armed gang behind a Grindr plot which robbed men of £100,000 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 male dating app Grindr.
However, the robbers would then brutally attack the men and steal their belongings.
The robberies occurred across the Birmingham and Derby areas, with the gang also staging a number of car breakdowns to coax passersby into situations in which they could be robbed.
Footage was shown in their case before Birmingham Crown Court of some gang members pretending their car was having mechanical issues in Derby before attacking Good Samaritans who attempted 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.
Threatening to stab victims if they didn’t agree to the gang’s demands, the five men also stole vehicles and house keys from some of their targets.
CCTV footage also captured the gang using some victim’s bank cards to withdraw cash from ATMs and shops.
Wasim Omar was jailed for 17 years and three months by Birmingham Crown Court
Ali Hassan was jailed for 16 years and nine months by Birmingham Crown Court
Abubaker Alexawy was jailed for 16 years and five months by Birmingham Crown Court
Demalji Hadza was jailed for 16 years and two months by Birmingham Crown Court
Mohammed Sharif was jailed for 12 years and three months by Birmingham Crown Court
Over the course of the case into the gang, Birmingham Crown Court heard how victims were often left battered with injuries ranging from broken eye sockets, to dislocated shoulders and broken noses.
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 by detectives who had trawled through hours of CCTV footage and analysed the gangs phone and bank records.
On Monday, after being found guilty of the robberies last September, the five person gang were jailed for a combined total of 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.
Detective Inspector Tom Lyons, of West Midlands Police, said: ‘This was a calculated series of robberies with Hadza, Alezawy, Hasan, Omar and Sharif, deliberately targeting victims because they believed they were vulnerable, easy targets.
‘My team conducted a lengthy investigation which required piecing together many strands of evidence.
‘I know that it took the victims in this case a huge amount of bravery and courage to come forward and support the criminal justice process through to trial – and I commend them for doing so.
‘Their evidence enabled us to launch a full-scale investigation and build a strong case, which ultimately brought the offenders to justice, and has undoubtedly prevented many other people from becoming a victim.’
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