Seven years after Lisa Wiese disappeared, a police raid on the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light (AROPL) in Crewe has given her family a glimmer of hope. The 30-year-old German national vanished during a trip to Kerala, India, in March 2019. She was a member of the sect, which blends Islamic theology with conspiracy theories about the Illuminati and aliens.
In April, 500 police officers raided the sect's headquarters, a former orphanage in Crewe. Twelve people were arrested on suspicion of modern-day slavery, human trafficking, forced marriage and rape. All have been bailed pending further inquiries. The investigation, Operation Decker, centres on allegations from a woman in Ireland and is not directly linked to Wiese's disappearance.
Wiese's ex-husband, AbdelRahman Hashem, hopes Cheshire police will widen their investigation. "German and Indian police both wanted to question the same member of AROPL. Surely the police in the UK can help make this happen," he said. German and Indian authorities opened investigations shortly after Wiese went missing but made little progress.
Friends described Wiese as warm and free-spirited. She converted to Islam in 2011 and moved to Egypt, joining AROPL. She later moved with the sect to Germany and then Sweden. In early 2019, her two young sons moved to the US to live with their father. In a letter, Wiese expressed her love for them and her desire to co-parent.
On 7 March 2019, Wiese flew to India with a member of the sect. Her airline ticket was paid for by another member. Various explanations have been given for the trip, including a desire for space from AROPL or from her family. Two days after sending an email from a hotel in India, she disappeared.
