Choudhry Ikhalaq Hussain (12/09/1977) formally of Mayfield Terrace, Rochdale was flown to the UK today (Tuesday 28 January 2020) after being arrested in the province of Punjab on Saturday 26 January 2019.
Hussain had fled, part way through his 2015 trial, which was one of a series launched under the umbrella of Operation Doublet; a large scale police investigation formed in 2012 to investigate reports of historic child sexual exploitation between 2003 and 2013, predominantly in the Rochdale area of Greater Manchester.
In April 2016 at Minshull Street Crown Court, Hussain was sentenced in his absence to 19 years imprisonment after being found guilty of three counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of rape and one count of conspiracy to rape.
GMP – with assistance from national and international partners – have been pursuing Hussain ever since.
Speaking after today’s extradition, Detective Superintendent Jamie Daniels, Senior Investigating Officer for Operation Doublet, said:
“Hussain is a sexual predator who mistakenly thought he could flee to another country to live the good life, while his victim was forced to deal with the consequences of his vile actions and robbed of justice. His apprehension demonstrates that when it comes to pursuing perpetrators of child sexual exploitation, we will hunt them across the globe if necessary.
“His extradition is an overwhelmingly positive result for GMP as well as agencies – including the National Crime Agency, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the British High Commission in Pakistan and the Pakistani authorities – who’ve worked in partnership with us for a number of years in order to catch Hussain and bring him back to the UK. It would be remiss of me not to also take this opportunity to thank the original NHS Crisis Intervention team, Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council and St Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Manchester. They have supported us from the very outset and were integral to the original court outcomes.
“Most importantly though, I must once more, publicly commend the bravery and courage of Hussain’s victim, who was subjected to the most horrific abuse. For her sake above all, we have always remained determined to catch Hussain – regardless of how much time passed or distance he travelled; and I do hope this extradition provides her with a measure of comfort as she can continues to rebuild her life.
“Today’s extradition demonstrates our dedication to ensuring criminals face justice. No matter how many years have passed, we will do everything in our power to ensure dangerous predators like Hussain are caught and face up to their abhorrent crimes. I hope that this news serves as a stark warning to abusers that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated. I also hope it sends a clear message to those who think that they can flee to the other side of the world to avoid serving a prison sentence –we won’t stop until you are put behind bars.”
Dr Christian Turner, British High Commissioner to Pakistan, said: “This latest example of close co-operation between the UK’s and Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies shows there is no escape for those who flee from the law, even across international boundaries. Choudhry Ikhalaq Hussain will finally face jail for his terrible crimes. This is down to the hard work and excellent collaboration between Pakistan and UK authorities, including the Federal Investigation Agency, the Punjab Police, Greater Manchester Police, and teams at the British High Commission in Islamabad.”
31 January 2019
A man who fled the country to avoid a 19-year jail sentence for raping a teenage girl in Rochdale has been arrested by police in Pakistan.
Choudhry Ikhalaq Hussain, 38, was convicted along with nine others who committed serious sexual offences against young girls in the town.
Hussain, of Mayfield Terrace, was given permission to attend a family funeral in the UK when he went on the run.
His arrest follows a joint operation by police in the UK and Pakistan.
In 2016, a jury found him guilty in his absence of raping and sexually abusing a child.
It followed an investigation by Greater Manchester Police, code-named Operation Doublet, which looked into the sexual exploitation of teenage girls in Rochdale.
Most of the offences took place between 2004 and 2008 and involved victims who were aged 13 to 23.
A teenage girl, raped by all 10 men, contacted police after the 2012 convictions of nine Asian defendants for grooming white girls in the town.
She said “hundreds” of older men would ring her up wanting sex and she had been groomed from the age of 14
Greater Manchester Police said Hussain was arrested on Saturday at an address in the Punjab province of Pakistan.
Det Ch Insp Jamie Daniels said: “As with all offences of this nature, the victim is at the forefront of the investigation and we were determined to track down Hussain for her.
“We were never going to give up on finding him, no matter how much time passed or how far he travelled.”
Ian Cruxton, head of international operations at the National Crime Agency, said: “Hussain’s offending represents the worst of its kind and he wrongly thought he could escape justice by fleeing to Pakistan.
“The NCA is committed to tracking down and arresting child sex offenders wherever they are in the world.”
The operation to arrest Hussain was hailed by the British High Commission in Pakistan as an excellent example of co-operation between the two countries.
Moves to extradite him back to the UK to serve his original sentence will now begin.