A gang of five individuals has been convicted and sentenced to a total of 78 years and 10 months in prison for committing a series of robberies over a ten-month period.

The group used dating applications, including Grindr, to lure male victims to arranged meetings, where they were subsequently robbed and assaulted.

The criminal activities took place primarily in Birmingham and Derby, UK.

The gang, composed of Demalji Hadza (21), Abubaker Alezawy (21), Ali Hassan (20), Wasim Omar (24), and Mohammed Sharif (22), targeted individuals whom they perceived to be vulnerable.

On multiple occasions, they staged car breakdowns to deceive good Samaritans attempting to offer assistance.

During the encounters, the victims were held against their will for hours, threatened with violence, and coerced into transferring significant sums of money from their accounts.

CCTV footage captured members of the gang withdrawing cash and making purchases using the victims' bank cards.

Among the stolen items were vehicles and house keys.

Reports also indicate that the gang threatened to stab their victims if they did not cooperate with demands.

Some victims suffered severe injuries, such as broken eye sockets, dislocated shoulders, and broken noses, from the brutal physical assaults.

The court proceedings revealed that the perpetrators wore masks and took measures to obscure the victims' view, preventing them from identifying their captors.

The sentencing followed guilty pleas from Hadza and Alezawy, while Hassan, Omar, and Sharif were found guilty after a six-week trial concluding in September.

Detective Inspector Tom Lyons of the West Midlands Police described the crimes as premeditated, highlighting the gang's deliberate selection of targets they deemed vulnerable and easy to manipulate.

The investigation and subsequent trial have brought a degree of closure to the victims, who were subjected to fear and violence over an extended period.