Rochdale grooming gang ringleader, 51, is seen shopping in the town where he abused young girls - six years after he was meant to have been deported to Pakistan

  • Abdul Rauf was jailed for six years for role in Rochdale child sex trafficking ring
  • In 2015, Rauf, 51, and two others were told by the Home Office they would be stripped of citizenship and were going to be deported after convictions in 2012
  • However, six years later, Rauf has been spotted shopping for food in Rochdale 

Pictured: Abdul Rauf has been pictured in Rochdale six years after the Home Office said he would be deported following his conviction for child sex offences

Pictured: Abdul Rauf has been pictured in Rochdale six years after the Home Office said he would be deported following his conviction for child sex offences

The convicted ringleader of a Rochdale Grooming gang is walking freely around the very town where he abused young girls - six years after he was told he would be deported.

Qari Abdul Rauf, 51,  was jailed for six years for trafficking and sex with a girl, who was just 15.

He was freed on licence in 2014 but was told he faced deportation to Pakistan because he holds a dual-nationality passport.   

But it appears he has been somehow able to frustrate the authorities efforts to get him removed and has been seen shopping for food and drink in the town.

He and his fellow abusers Abdul Aziz, 50, and Adil Khan, 51, were all supposed to be deported but are all still in Britain.

Abdul Rauf in Rochdale back in 2019 wearing exactly the same clothes as he sported this week

Pictures showed Rauf shopping in Rochdale and he appeared to be carrying an insulated food delivery bag suggesting he may be a courier. Pictured: Abdul Rauf in Rochdale back in 2019

The Rochdale grooming gang's abuse was dramatised in a BBC programme called Three Girls

The Rochdale grooming gang's abuse was dramatised in a BBC programme called Three Girls

All three are dual nationals, having moved to the UK from Pakistan but gaining British citizenship due to their time in the country.

Their vile abuse of underage girls appalled the nation and their crimes were dramatised in the BBC’s Bafta-winning Three Girls. 

Aziz carried the more sinister title of 'the master' and is a father of three. He was originally sentenced to nine years for trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sex with a child. 

Adil Khan was given eight years for conspiracy and trafficking a 13-year-old girl who fell pregnant.

The three men appealed but were told by the courts in 2018 that the decision regarding their citizenship stands. It is understood they still have the right to appeal the deportation decision.

Now, six years after they were warned they could be deported, Rauf has been pictured by the Sun shopping for food and drink in Rochdale. 

Pictured: Adil Khan and Abdul Aziz were both also told they would be stripped of their citizenship in 2015. As of 2019, they were still living in Britain along with Abdul Rauf

Pictured: Adil Khan and Abdul Aziz were both also told they would be stripped of their citizenship in 2015. As of 2019, they were still living in Britain along with Abdul Rauf

He appeared to be carrying an insulated bag for a takeaway delivery service.

Maggie Oliver, the Greater Manchester Police detective who resigned to speak out about failures in dealing with grooming gangs, told the Sun it was 'another kick in the teeth' for the victims after 'pitiful' sentences.

A Home Office spokesman said case had 'recently been reviewed' and that 'the victims through the proper channels'.

In 2017 the men had appealed against moves by the Government to strip them of their British citizenship.

But in 2018 their claims were dismissed on all grounds by the Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber.

The then home secretary Theresa May ruled in 2015 that all three men - who have dual British and Pakistani nationality - should have their names deleted from the roll of British citizens. 

Lord Justice Sales said that what they and others did to vulnerable girls in Rochdale amounted to 'serious organised crime'.

Gerald Clifton, the judge who jailed them at Liverpool Crown Court in May 2012, said victims were 'raped callously, viciously and violently'.

As revealed by the Mail in June 2019, four of the group were still living in Britain, with no signs of any being prepared for deportation to Pakistan.

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