Five members of a grooming gang who sexually exploited three teenage girls in Rhyl, North Wales, have been jailed for a combined total of 81 years. The victims were aged just 14, 15, and 16 when the gang targeted them, plying them with drugs and alcohol before abusing them.
Ringleader Mustafa Iqbal, 43, was sentenced to 35 years after being convicted of 21 offences, including four counts of rape. The judge, His Honour Judge Simon Mills, described Iqbal as having an "apparently uncontrollable" and "voracious" sexual appetite. Accomplice Sarah Gray, 53, was said to have "sold her soul" to Iqbal in return for cocaine, allowing him to rape one victim at her home. The other gang members were Mohamed Arshad, 36, Jaswinder Singh, 61, and Ziaullah Badshah, 25.
Exploitation in Rhyl
The gang was found guilty last month following a trial at Caernarfon Crown Court. They were convicted of offences linked to the exploitation and abuse of three teenage girls in Rhyl and surrounding areas between April 2022 and March 2024. During the four-month trial, jurors heard how the men supplied the children with alcohol and drugs before raping and assaulting them.
Prosecutor Owen Edwards KC explained that Iqbal encountered two girls wandering Rhyl's streets while under the influence of cannabis in March 2022. He took them to his home and told his accomplices, Arshad and Badshah. The girls initially said they were 17 and 16, but later disclosed their real ages as 15 and 14. During a game of spin the bottle, the girls were given cannabis, and the abuse escalated rapidly. Police launched an investigation in 2022, but no charges were brought at that stage.
Further abuse and arrest
In November 2023, Iqbal met another girl, aged 16. He made his sexual interest obvious, and she called him a "nonce". However, within days she entered a relationship where she traded sex for cocaine. Mr Edwards said: "She was in effect a sex slave." An adult who knew her contacted the authorities, and Iqbal was arrested on 17 January 2024. Officers found he had a sex toy and a noxious gas canister.
Despite a warning to stop contacting the 16-year-old, Iqbal changed his phone, car, and address, moving his liaisons with her to Gray's residence in Gronant or his own home. During one incident, he handcuffed the girl and raped her "forcefully", the court heard. Afterwards, Gray washed the bed linen to remove forensic evidence. The girl later handed police underwear containing DNA from Iqbal's last rape. All defendants were arrested on 7 August 2025, and officers discovered Iqbal had been communicating with another girl, aged 17.
Sentences and reaction
Judge Mills condemned the defendants, stating that each male had taken part in trips to Manchester or London, targeting the 15- and 14-year-old girls as "easy prey". Addressing Iqbal, he said: "I have no doubt you are a dangerous offender (and) you pose a serious risk to young girls." The judge also said there should be "reflection" on the failure to act in 2022, though he intended no criticism of North Wales Police.
Iqbal received a 30-year sentence for each rape and trafficking offence, to run concurrently, and must serve two-thirds before parole. Arshad was jailed for 19 years for trafficking and 12 years for each rape, also concurrent. Badshah received 17 years for trafficking, Singh eight years, and Gray seven years for drugs offences plus one year for perverting the course of justice.
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."
Detective Chief Inspector Richard Sidney, senior investigating officer from 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."
He added: "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."
