Who Is Shabir Ahmed? Pakistani-Born Grooming Gang Leader At Centre Of UK Deportation Row

Last Updated:July 03, 2026, 22:25 IST

Ahmed, 73, was released this week under an early release scheme and is now living in monitored accommodation while being tracked with a GPS electronic tag.

Shabir Ahmed, the convicted ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang, has been released from prison after serving 14 years for multiple rape and sexual offences against young girls, reigniting calls for his deportation from the United Kingdom.

Ahmed, 73, was released this week under an early release scheme and is now living in monitored accommodation while being tracked with a GPS electronic tag.

A UK Probation Service letter sent to victims revealed that he cannot currently be deported under provisions of the Immigration Act 1971, which protects certain Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK before 1973 and had lived in the country for at least five years. Reports also suggest Pakistan has been reluctant to accept his return.

Who Is Shabir Ahmed?

Ahmed was convicted in 2012 and sentenced to 22 years in prison for multiple counts of rape and sexual offences involving vulnerable teenage girls in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. He was identified as the ringleader of a group of nine men who groomed and sexually abused children over several years.

During the trial, victims said Ahmed, whom they referred to as “Daddy", gained their trust by offering food, cigarettes and alcohol before subjecting them to repeated sexual abuse.

Following his conviction, he was stripped of his British citizenship but retained Pakistani nationality.

Responding to his release, a spokesperson for 10 Downing Street said Ahmed’s crimes were “at the heart of the grooming gangs scandal" and called them as one of the “darkest moments" in Britain’s history.

“He will rightly be on the sex offenders register for life, ordered to stay away from his victims and banned from contacting any child or young person. His every movement will be tracked, and forced to wear an electronic tag," the spokesperson added.

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