A ‘cruel’ gang who targeted gay men on Grindr in order to violently rob them has been jailed for nearly 80 years in total. They stole more than £100,000 from their victims during a ten-month rampage in Birmingham as well as an incident in Derby where they used another scam to attack two men at knifepoint.
A further victim was also targeted at city centre nightclub Reflex, believing his drink was spiked before he was held captive for over 12 hours. The gang often lured gay men to Golden Hillock Sports Ground in Sparkbrook, forced them to unlock their phones with facial recognition and then drained their bank and cryptocurrency accounts.
All five men from Birmingham were jailed at the city’s crown court today, Monday, January 13, after previously being convicted of conspiracy to rob. Demalji Hadza, aged 21, of Erskine Street, Nechells, admitted the charge and was sentenced to 16 years and two months.
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Abubaker Al Ezawy, 21, of Baverstock Road, Kings Heath, also pleaded guilty and received 16 years and five months. The other three men were convicted after trial. Ali Hassan, aged 21, of Albert Road, Lozells, was handed 16 years and nine months, while Wasim Omar, 24, of Wardlow Road, Nechells, was sentenced to 17 years and three months.
Mohammed Sharif, 23, of Keer Court, Bordesley Green, was jailed for 12 years. All will serve up to two-thirds of their terms in custody before being eligible for release.
Judge Sarah Buckingham stated the defendants ‘hatched a plan’ to target gay and bisexual men on the Grindr dating app out of homophobia and the belief they would have more money in their accounts. She declared they wrongly assumed that the victims would not report the attacks, adding: “They did come to court with dignity and bravery.
“Many were shockingly assaulted and some were humiliated. They came to court to ensure justice is done. Those men have nothing to be ashamed of. All of you on the other hand, do.”
Abubaker Alezawy
The judge blasted the gang for presenting a helpful and responsible image to their families while concealing an ‘entirely different side’ to themselves. She said: “There is no explanation for why you considered it necessary to be so cruel. You prolonged the detention of those men.
“There’s no explanation for your taunting and use of hostility. Why? there is no explanation. You formed a toxic group feeding off and encouraging each other, apparently thinking you had got away with your crime. You were emboldened.”
Judge Buckingham continued: “Greed was your primary motivation. You shared a warped and skewed view of what’s acceptable or not. Drinking alcohol and homosexuality was not acceptable to you.”
She added that all but Sharif, who was lesser involved, demonstrated ‘intolerance based on ignorance’, saying: “You have let down your families and brought nothing but shame and disgrace to your families’ name.”
Demalji Hadza
Finally, the judge concluded: “You wanted what you couldn’t afford legitimately, nor were prepared to study and work for. You have no respect for anyone who does not live how you think they should.”
There were nine attacks in total between April 2023 and February 2024, although not all five defendants were involved each time. The first took place following a ‘pre-planned trip’ to Derby in which the gang ‘trawled’ the streets and bars for intoxicated men.
When they selected two male targets, one of the robbers feigned injury, drawing the victims’ concerned attention, only to pounce on them and rob them at knifepoint. Then there was the string of incidents involving men being targeted on Grindr and then being told to meet up at parks, particularly Golden Hillock Sports Ground.
Victims were often beaten, threatened with being stabbed with knives and held captive for hours. The balaclava-clad robbers forced them to unlock their mobile banking apps in order to drain their bank and cryptocurrency accounts.
Ali Hassan
One man suffered a fractured eye socket, while another sustained a dislocated shoulder due to the brutality of the assaults. Some of the victims were humiliated due to their homosexuality.
One was interrogated, ‘Why don’t you like p****?’ and ‘Why do you like boys?’ before being branded a ‘dirty paedo’. Another was told to shout ‘I f*** girls’ 100 times during a similar ordeal.
A further male had his face pushed into the mud to prevent him from seeing what was happening. The penultimate incident on July 23, 2023, was different. Instead of Grindr being used as a preying ground, an intoxicated male was identified at Reflex nightclub on Broad Street.
He suspected his drink had been spiked as he began to feel ‘woozy’. A man he had been talking to in the smoking area offered him a lift home but it turned out to be one of the robbers who bundled him into a car with his accomplices.
Wasim Omar
The victim was detained against his will for 12 and a half hours in total before being let go. The gang stole around £2,500 in cash and his cryptocurrency worth £18,000 at the time.
The last incident was carried by Al Ezawy and an unidentified second robber at another park in Birmingham on February 5, 2024. The victim, again contacted through Grindr, was asked by one of the attackers how his family felt about him being gay.
It made him feel like homosexual men were ‘easy prey’ for the crooks. The man received a broken eye socket and had nearly £11,000 stolen from him.
Prosecutor Matthew Brook KC stated the robbery plot was a hate crime because it was ‘aggravated by hostility related to sexual orientation’. He said: “There is no doubt the defendants were targeting gay men. Grindr is an application used only by gay and bisexual men.
“The reason these defendants appeared to be targeting gay men was a mixture of a belief held by the defendants that their victims would not complain to the police – especially if targeted by Grindr; a belief gay men would have more money in their bank accounts and homophobia.”
Mohammed Sharif
None of the five men had previous convictions. Sunit Sandhu, for Hadza, stated the married father of one had shown ‘immaturity and a lack of consequential thinking’. He added he was remorseful and ‘riddled with shame’.
Harbinder Lally, for Al Ezawy, told the court his client got himself involved in the plot due to debt. Sarah Turner provided the same reason for Hassan but said he ‘distanced himself’ after he ‘came to his senses and realised the impact it was having on his victims’.
The court was told Omar had been the victim of a stabbing and shooting attempt in 2020 in a case of mistaken identity. Amjad Hussain, mitigating, said he had shown ‘excellent conduct’ in HMP Birmingham, where he had earned the ‘highest level of privileges’.
Finally, Simon Burch, for Sharif, argued his client had only been involved in the earlier incidents, which did not feature homophobic degradation of the victims. The hearing was not without controversy as one teenage male, who was a relative of one of the defendants, was hauled to the witness box and warned by Judge Buckingham about ‘inappropriate behaviour’ in the public gallery.
And many relatives broke down in tears as the sentences were confirmed, with one person slamming the door to the courtroom as they stormed out.