Sep 21
Men Busted for Using Grindr to Commit Robberies in the UK
Emell Adolphus READ TIME: 1 MIN.
A gang of men reportedly used the LGBT dating app Grindr to steal more than more than £100,000 (around $130,000) from multiple men in the United Kingdom over a 10-month period.
The BBC reports Demalji Hadza, 21, Abubaker Alezawy, 21, Ali Hassan, 20, Wasim Omar, 24, and Mohammed Sharif, 22, were all convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery.
Their robbing spree reportedly began in April 2023. Together, they operated as a gang, luring unsuspecting men they met on Grindr to ambush them and steal their personal effects, such as watches, wallets, jewelry and keys. Some men were reportedly held for hours as they forced them to drain their bank accounts.
In some cases their victims suffered bodily injuries, including a broken eye socket, a dislocated shoulder and a broken nose.
"Convicting these individuals would have never been possible without the victims' bravery in sharing their accounts," said Det Con Sarah Byrne.
Detectives said that the men specifically targeted members of the LGBTQ community thinking that their victims would not come forward. However, they thought wrong said Georgina Davies of the Crown Prosecution Service.
"They may have thought that the victims would not report the offences, but we were able to hold all five defendants accountable for their actions," she said.
The men are due to be sentenced in November.
