Research has revealed extensive criminal links between grooming gangs and wider organised crime networks across the United Kingdom, exposing a complex web of offenders involved in drug trafficking, protection rackets, and acts of violence. The findings come from an upcoming report known as the Network Map, which utilises police, court, and local authority records alongside interviews with survivors, journalists, and campaigners to provide what is claimed to be the most comprehensive analysis of grooming gangs to date.

The Network Map identifies over 1,000 individuals, groups, families, and establishments connected to grooming activities, highlighting the national scale of the problem with linked offences spanning from Plymouth to Dundee. Researchers behind the project emphasize that the research addresses gaps in police data collection, long criticised for its inadequacy in dealing with these crimes and often hindered by reluctance to confront criminality associated with certain ethnic groups.

A public inquiry announced by the Labour government will initially focus on grooming gang offences in London, Oldham, Bradford, and Keighley. This inquiry follows revelations made more than a decade ago by investigative journalism that brought to light the widespread sexual abuse of predominantly white girls. An audit conducted by Baroness Casey of Blackstock last year identified a disproportionate number of men of Asian descent as responsible for offences in some areas. Casey’s report also highlighted an ongoing “appalling lack of data on ethnicity in crime recording,” as well as institutional failures in information sharing that have allowed perpetrators to continue offending unchecked.

The research also shows that more than 150 notable individuals linked to grooming gangs were involved in other serious crimes. Many maintain direct relationships or associations through criminal enterprises, family ties, or gang conflicts. Among those named is Amar Ilyas, a groomer recently convicted in Sheffield, who reportedly used firearms and threats of gang rape to coerce victims. The Network Map details an incident in which Ilyas was stabbed in the head by an organised criminal connected to drug trafficking; this attack is believed to be linked to a separate shooting. Ilyas fled the country to Pakistan following his arrest, and an international warrant has been issued for his capture.

Another highlighted connection involves a Bradford-based drug baron related to Parvaze Ahmed, who was convicted in 2019 for sexual offences. One survivor, Fiona Goddard, who was abused as a child by Ahmed and eight other men, has waived her anonymity to advocate publicly against grooming.

Campaigners have raised concerns that the public inquiry’s focus on specific localities might overlook the broader, interconnected nature of grooming gangs revealed by the Network Map. The report’s authors, who requested anonymity due to fears of repercussions, hope their work will advance understanding and support efforts to tackle the criminal networks facilitating sexual exploitation across the UK.