Gang who used Grindr to rob victims jailed

Five men who used dating app Grindr to target and rob men in a series of robberies have been jailed.

Demalji Hadza, 21, Abubaker Alezawy, 21, Ali Hassan, 20, Wasim Omar, 24, and Mohammed Sharif, 22, lured men into meeting before assaulting them and stealing their belongings.

The gang were convicted last year of stealing £100,000 from men in Birmingham and Derby over a 10-month period.

Judge Sarah Buckingham said: “It is clear that there has been long lasting consequences on the men who have done nothing to deserve what happened to them.”

The men were given sentences ranging from 12 to 17 years at Birmingham Crown Court.

Police said victims were encouraged to come to a location under the pretence of meeting with a legitimate user on Grindr, a dating app for gay and bisexual men.

But when they arrived they were set upon by an armed gang, who sought to steal money, vehicles, house keys and identification documents.

Some victims were held for hours against their will and left fearing for their lives while their accounts were raided, detectives said.

The men’s sentences were:

• Hadza – 16 years and two months

• Alezaway -16 years and five months

• Hassan – 16 years and nine months

• Omar – 17 years and three months

Some of the injuries victims suffered included a broken eye socket, a dislocated shoulder and a broken nose.

The men were held captive while their phones were used to transfer large sums of money from their bank accounts, police added.

The gang began targeting their victims in April 2023.