Rhyl Grooming Gang Jailed for Over 80 Years After Abusing Teenage Girls A grooming gang in Rhyl, North Wales, has been jailed for more than 80 years for raping and trafficking vulnerable girls as young as 14, sparking calls for a UK-wide inquiry. A grooming gang in the North Wales town of Rhyl has been jailed for a total of more than 80 years for raping and trafficking vulnerable girls as young as 14. Mustafa Iqbal, 43, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for raping two girls, while Mohamed Usman Arshad, 36, and Ziaullah Badshah, 25, received 19 and 17 years respectively for raping one of the three victims. Background of the Rhyl Grooming GangThe abuse began in 2022 when Iqbal met two teenagers in Rhyl, a seaside resort in North Wales, and took them to his address. They were later joined by Badshah and Arshad. At the property, the girls were given vodka and cannabis before being subjected to weeks of sexual abuse in cars, houses and business premises.A third teenager, aged 16, contacted Iqbal looking to buy drugs. He raped her multiple times over a three-month period, at one point handcuffing her before having sex with her at the home of Sarah Gray, 53, in the nearby village of Gronant.Jaswinder Singh, 61, drove the victims around Rhyl and supplied them with cannabis. He also trafficked one girl nearly 250 miles to London to obtain a fake passport so she could go clubbing in the capital. Singh, who lived on benefits, was sentenced to eight years in prison for conspiracy to traffic and supplying cannabis.Convictions and Court EvidenceAll four men were convicted of multiple counts, including rape, conspiracy to traffic and supplying cannabis. They were convicted alongside Sarah Gray, 53, a drug addict who allowed her home to be used for sexual abuse and tried to destroy evidence.During the police investigation, Badshah, who was granted asylum after leaving his native Pakistan as a child, tried to blame the girls’ parents. He told detectives that if they could not look after their kids, they should not have babies. Arshad, who ran what was once described as the friendliest cafe in Rhyl, secretly raped one girl in a nearby alleyway.He told interviewing officers that it was not like a grooming thing, before confessing his actions were wrong and disgusting. Even after being arrested, Iqbal recorded himself coaching one of the victims on how to avoid CCTV cameras so they could continue meeting up. The gang referred to the victims using Urdu slang for prostitutes, while Arshad and Iqbal swapped text messages arguing about one of the girls being passed to another man for sex.Police Failures and Calls for InquiryPolice are facing questions after failing to take action against the gang following their initial arrests in 2022, with crucial mobile phone evidence not accessed. The case comes after two men were jailed for grooming and exploiting a teenage girl in Cardiff, and has sparked calls for a long-awaited inquiry into England’s grooming gangs to be expanded to Wales.Rhyl, once a popular family resort with long sandy beaches and amusement arcades, has faced decline and deprivation in recent years, with boarded-up shops and high levels of drug abuse. The abuse took place against this backdrop, with the victims known to local social services.One of the girls later told how Badshah, whom she described as very mean, had exploited her drug addiction and treated her like a prostitute. Another recalled that her mouth said help while having sex with him. The 16-year-old victim said Iqbal kept going and going and going, adding that she felt disgusted and that he would have been fully aware she was not consenting.