A grooming gang in the Welsh seaside town of Rhyl has been jailed for a total of 87 years for using teenage girls as “sexual commodities.” Mustafa Iqbal, Mohamed Arshad, Ziaullah Badshah, Jaswinder Singh, and Sarah Gray were sentenced at Caernarfon Crown Court after being convicted last month.
The gang trafficked vulnerable victims aged 14, 15, and 16, who were drugged, handcuffed, and raped in cars, homes, and businesses in Rhyl and surrounding areas between April 2022 and March 2024.
Sentences and convictions
Iqbal, 43, of Trellewelyn Road, Rhyl, was jailed for 35 years after being convicted of 21 offences, including four rapes and three sexual assaults involving all three girls. Arshad was jailed for 19 years, Badshah for 17 years, while Singh and Gray were each jailed for eight years.
Iqbal was found guilty of raping Child B and sexually assaulting Child C, as well as raping Child A, a 16-year-old who lived in a care home. He also supplied Child A with crack cocaine and cannabis in return for sex. He was convicted of conspiracy to traffic, conspiracy to supply cannabis and cocaine, and breaching a trafficking risk order, and pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited weapon.
How the abuse unfolded
The first two victims, Child B (15) and Child C (14), were approached by Iqbal near a petrol station and persuaded to return to his home. They were later joined by local coffee shop owner Arshad, 36, and his friend Badshah, 25. The teenagers smoked cannabis with the men before playing spin the bottle.
Child A was treated as a “sexual plaything,” handcuffed and raped by Iqbal. The full extent of the abuse emerged after Child B was taken to London by Singh, 61, who claimed she was “looking after his dog.” A concerned adult reported him to police.
Investigators analysed hundreds of hours of CCTV footage, phone records, and travel patterns, then spent weeks building the victims’ trust before they revealed what they had endured.
Further convictions and support
Badshah, 25, of Brighton Road, Rhyl, was found guilty of two counts of rape, two counts of conspiracy to traffic, two counts of conspiracy to require a person to perform compulsory labour, and supplying cannabis. Arshad, of Clifton Grove, Rhyl, was found guilty of three counts of rape, two counts of conspiracy to traffic, two counts of conspiracy to require a person to perform compulsory labour, and supplying cannabis. Singh, of River Street, Rhyl, was found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to traffic and one count of supplying cannabis. Gray, 53, of Gronant, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice, assisting an offender, conspiracy to supply cocaine, and conspiracy to supply cannabis.
Barnardo’s worked with North Wales Police to support the victims. Sarah Crawley of the charity said: “These sentences are a result of the incredible bravery shown by the young survivors in this case. By coming forward and giving evidence, they helped expose the abuse they suffered and made sure those responsible were brought to justice. Their courage has not only secured these prison sentences but has also helped protect other children from harm.” Louisa Robertson of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “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.”
