Asian Gang Accused of Exploiting Teen Girls as 'Sexual Commodities' in Wales
A gang of four Asian men exploited three teenage girls, treating them as 'sexual commodities' in exchange for cannabis and cocaine, a court heard on Monday. The men allegedly pressured the vulnerable teenagers in the seaside town of Rhyl, north Wales, into providing sexual services.
Charges and Defendants
Mustafa Iqbal, 43, Ziaullah Badsha, 25, Mohamed Arshad, 36, and Jaswinder Singh, 65, face a total of 28 charges between them. These include trafficking for sexual exploitation, rape, supplying drugs, and sexual assaults. All four defendants deny the allegations.
Prosecutor Owen Edwards KC told the jury at Caernarfon Crown Court that the girls, aged 14, 15, and 16, were 'obvious targets for predatory older men'. The trial focuses on incidents where the men allegedly used drugs to manipulate and abuse the teenagers.
Incident Details and Allegations
According to Mr Edwards, two girls, aged 14 and 15, were out walking late at night in Rhyl after smoking drugs when they were spotted by Iqbal. Iqbal, described as a drug dealer and takeaway driver riding an e-scooter, allegedly decided they were 'ripe for sexual exploitation'.
The girls began talking to Iqbal and went to his home, where he called friends Badsha and Arshad. The teenagers were then plied with drink and cannabis before being sexually assaulted, the court heard. 'They took the girls as sexual commodities,' Mr Edwards stated.
Singh allegedly arranged to take one of the girls to London, instructing her to pretend to his sister that she was his 22-year-old carer. This was to avoid suspicion that he was part of an 'Asian grooming gang', the jury was told.
Further Exploitation and Arrests
Iqbal also treated a third girl, a 16-year-old crack cocaine addict, as a 'sex slave', according to the prosecution. Mr Edwards emphasized that the men had 'easy access' to drugs and exploited each girl's vulnerability. 'Each of these girls were vulnerable, each treated by older men as a sexual object, each provided with drugs,' he said. 'In every case, the person gaining from the relationship was the man.'
The police were contacted after a friend of one girl became concerned, leading to the arrests of the four men. Initially, they made 'various denials', and no charges were brought at that stage. Mr Edwards added that the defendants 'seemed proud of their exploits'.
Additional Defendant and Charges
A woman, Sarah Gray, 53, from Gronant, faces charges of conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis. Gray is accused of allowing her house to be used by Iqbal for sexual exploitation and perverting justice by washing bedding following a rape of the 16-year-old girl, which involved handcuffs.
Iqbal is also alleged to have breached a slavery trafficking risk order. The trial continues at Caernarfon Crown Court as the jury hears further evidence in this disturbing case of alleged exploitation and abuse.
