“I don’t believe Telford has a discernible problem compared to other towns. “Child sexual exploitation will be taking place all over the country and Telford is not different to anywhere else.
Tom Harding, then the superintendent in charge of Telford police.
Labelled as Britain’s worst sex-abuse scandal the Telford Grooming gang showed just the tip of the iceberg of abuse by the ethnic minorities in towns and cities where there is a large ethnic majority, with claims that up to 1,000 children could have been affected. Operation Chalice identified more than 100 girls who had been targeted by a child sex abuse gang, and it soon became clear that the seven convictions were just the tip of the iceberg.
Concerns that Telford was the centre of an organised child-sex ring first emerged in May 2013, when seven men were jailed for a string of offences relating to four teenage girls who in the words of one of them was ‘passed around like a piece of meat’.
Mubarek Ali, Ahdel Ali
The leader of this vile gang
- Ahdel Ali, then 25, was convicted of 18 offences, including the rape of a 13-year-old girl, six offences of under-age sex with the same girl, three charges of controlling a child prostitute and sexual activity with a second victim, two offences of sexual activity with a child involving a third girl and offences of grooming and inciting child prostitution and sexual activity with a fourth victim. The paedophile was handed a 26-year extended sentence, with an order that he should serve 18 years in prison as well as an additional eight years on licence. Mean while his brother….
- Mubarek Ali, who lived with his brother Ahdel Ali in Regent Street, Wellington, Telford, TF1 1 was convicted of seven offences, four of controlling child prostitution, causing child prostitution and two offences of trafficking children for prostitution. He received a 22-year sentence – 14 years immediate custody, with eight years on licence following his release.
- Mohammed Ali Sultan, then 26, of Victoria Avenue, Wellington, Telford, TF1 1 received a seven-year sentence after admitting sex with a 13-year-old and another teenage girl, and controlling a third girl as a child prostitute.
- Tanveer Ahmed, then 40, of Urban Gardens, Wellington, Telford, TF1 1, admitted selling a teenage girl for sex to a man in Oakengates. He was jailed for two-and-a-half years.
- Mohammed Islam Choudhrey, 53, of Sutton Hill, Madeley, Telford, TF7 4, was jailed for two-and-a-half years after admitting paying to have sex with a teenage prostitute controlled by the Ali brothers.
- Mahroof Khan, 35, an unemployed chef, of Caradoc Flats King’s Haye Road, Wellington, Telford, TF1 1, admitted having under-age sex with a teenage girl. He was jailed for underage sex, but walked free after spending more than 900 days on a tag while on bail.
- Mohammed Younis, 60, had also been jailed the previous December for allowing his flat in Kingsland, Arleston, Telford, TF1 2 to be used for prostitution.
Map of Addresses the arrested lived at
Operation Chalice – was a two-year investigation into a Wellington-based sex abuse gang by West Mercia Police – that had been subject to reporting restrictions. But the conviction of the paedophiles Ahdel ‘Eddie’ Ali and Mubarek ‘Max’ Ali, along with five paedophile accomplices, laid bare the crimes that had been taking place in the historic market town for years. This became true when In 2015, Mohammed Ali Sultan was jailed for a further 11 years at Shrewsbury Crown Court after being found guilty of rape. In 2019, he was before the courts again, where he was jailed for a further eight years after being convicted of rape and three counts of indecent assault. His co-defendant Mohammad Rizwan, then 37, of Mafeking Road, Telford, was jailed for five-and-a-half years for indecent assault. Shafiq Younas, then 35, of Regent Street, Wellington, received a four-and-a-half year term for indecent assault, but was later cleared on appeal.
Tom Harding, then the superintendent in charge of Telford police, described the claims as sensationalism. He said he had no idea where that figure of 1,000 had come from, and said Telford was no different from any other town.
“Child sexual exploitation wasn’t even a defined category 40 years ago, so I have no idea how they have come to that figure,” said Mr Harding.
“I don’t believe Telford has a discernible problem compared to other towns. “Child sexual exploitation will be taking place all over the country and Telford is not different to anywhere else.
“Something on the scale of what was revealed by Operation Chalice wouldn’t be able to happen today without it being picked up.”
Mr Harding said the police now had officers who worked closely with the local authority to ensure the victims received support.
Telford grooming gang paedophile Mubarek Ali admits new charges – BBC News
Telford grooming gang leader back behind bars – BBC News
Mubarek Ali: Telford grooming gang leader to remain in jail – BBC News
Telford grooming ‘tip of the iceberg’, says solicitor – BBC News
Telford gang is jailed for sexually abusing girls | Shropshire Star