A group of men and a woman have been convicted at Caernarfon Crown Court for sexually exploiting teenage girls in the Welsh seaside town of Rhyl. The defendants, including Mustafa Iqbal, Mohamed Arshad, Ziaullah Badshah, and Sarah Gray, were found guilty of a series of offenses involving trafficking, sexual assault, drug supply, and perverting the course of justice. Sentencing for the primary offenders is scheduled for September 25.

The three female victims, aged between 14 and 16 at the time, were targeted and abused over a nearly two-year period from April 2022 to March 2024 in various locations around Rhyl, including cars, private residences, and local businesses. Prosecutors described the girls as vulnerable and manipulated into being “sexual commodities,” with particular emphasis placed on the repeated abuse of one victim identified only as Child B.

Mustafa Iqbal, 43, was found guilty of multiple counts including rape, sexual assault, conspiracy to traffic, and breaches of a trafficking risk order. He admitted to supplying crack cocaine and cannabis and pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited weapon. The court heard that Iqbal lured at least two of the victims near a petrol station before subjecting them to drug use and sexual assault.

Mohamed Arshad, 36, a coffee shop owner in Rhyl, was also convicted on several serious charges, including three counts of rape, drug supply, and conspiracies linked to trafficking and compulsory labor. One assault took place in an alleyway near his former business, Zayn’s Coffee House.

Ziaullah Badshah, 25, originally a refugee from Pakistan who arrived in the UK at age 15, was found guilty of two rapes, trafficking conspiracy, and drug offenses. During the trial, Badshah admitted to kissing the victims and having sex with one of them in his home.

Sarah Gray, 53, of Gronant, was convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis, as well as assisting offenders and perverting the course of justice. Meanwhile, Jaswinder Singh, 61, a former builder from Rhyl, was found guilty of conspiracy to traffic and supplying cannabis after taking one victim to London, an act he denied had any sexual purpose.

Det Ch Insp Richard Sidney emphasized the gravity of the case, stating that the victims were children subjected to exploitation and abuse by adults who deliberately manipulated and controlled them. The convictions mark a significant outcome in ongoing efforts to combat child trafficking and exploitation in the region.