The ringleader of a Rochdale grooming gang that preyed on two teenage girls has been jailed for 35 years, with five other men also handed long sentences for their roles in widespread abuse.
Mohammed Zahid, 64, from Crumpsall, Manchester, was found guilty of 20 offences including rape, indecency with a child, and attempting to procure unlawful sex. Known as “Boss man”, Zahid used his market stall to target girls, offering them free lingerie, food, money and alcohol before subjecting them to repeated sexual abuse.
Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard how the victims, both aged 13 at the start of the abuse, were sexually exploited between 2001 and 2006 in flats, cars, warehouses, alleyways, and even on “rancid mattresses.” Judge Jonathan Seely said the girls were “failed woefully” by authorities despite being in the care system and raising concerns at the time.
Prosecutors said Zahid grew “confident that nothing would be done” as he regularly collected one victim from her care home in full view of staff.
The court also sentenced five other men convicted during the four-month trial:
- Kasir Bashir, 50, sentenced to 29 years in absence after fleeing the UK.
- Mushtaq Ahmed, 67, jailed for 27 years.
- Roheez Khan, 39, jailed for 12 years.
- Mohammed Shahzad, 44, jailed for 26 years.
- Nisar Hussain, 41, jailed for 19 years.
- Naheem Akram, 48, jailed for 26 years.
The offences included rape, indecency with a child, and assault by penetration.
The victims, who came from troubled home lives, bravely gave evidence in court. One said in a statement that the abuse had “destroyed my life.”
Judge Seely condemned the gang’s actions as “chilling,” highlighting how both girls were left vulnerable to being “abused, humiliated, degraded and then discarded.”
