New Delhi: Police in the UK have identified at least “70 victims, aged between 11 and 17,” who were groomed and manipulated by a 27-year-old “Indian man” into sending him sexually explicit videos and photos of themselves. An investigation has revealed that he used Snapchat, Roblox and Wink to commit the offences, claiming to be a 14-year-old, and even using photos of an unidentified white British teenage boy to mislead the victims, “identified across 28 of the UK’s 45 police forces”.
In a statement on 13 November, Cheshire Constabulary said it had identified “180 potential victims” following its largest investigation into online child sexual abuse.
Bilal Kazi, a student at University of Chester at the time of the offences, appeared Friday at Chester Crown Court, where he was sentenced to 30 years in prison, followed by an additional eight years on extended licence.
Police found more than 400 indecent photos and videos on his phone from the Cheshire investigation. Investigators also found more than 500 photos and videos on his devices in Birmingham, many of them in the ‘most serious category’.
Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Georgia Hughes, of the Cheshire Constabulary’s Online Child Abuse Investigation Team (OCAIT), said, “The scale of Kazi’s offending meant this was a truly mammoth investigation, requiring significant resources and close collaboration across the force.”
“The girls targeted by Kazi were young and vulnerable. For many, their interactions with him were their first experience of what they believed to be a romantic relationship. Exploiting that trust, Kazi manipulated them into believing that his behaviour was normal,” Hughes said.
Adding, “His offending has had a profound and lasting impact on the victims. Many lived in constant fear of what he would do if they failed to comply with his demands, and some have carried that fear with them for years. What should have been important formative years have instead been overshadowed by the trauma of Kazi’s abuse.”
Investigation records show that the 27-year-old of Hubert Croft, Birmingham, had previously pleaded guilty to 37 charges of child sexual offences.
The investigation into Kazi’s offending was taken over by officers from OCAIT in May 2022, after one of his victims reported the abuse she had suffered to Derbyshire Police.
‘Became abusive, called victim names’
During the course of the police investigation, the victim “explained that she began speaking to Kazi on Snapchat when she was 13, believing him to be the same age”. According to the police, “Their conversations quickly turned sexual in nature, with Kazi asking the victim a number of inappropriate questions.”
Police added, “Kazi’s behaviour escalated, and he began requesting naked images and videos from the victim. Over a short time, those requests became increasingly frequent and persistent.”
Further, in July 2021, the victim told Kazi that she “only wanted to be friends and no longer wished to send him images”.
In response, investigation revealed, “Kazi became abusive, calling her names and claiming that she was his property. He then threatened to distribute the photos and videos she had previously shared with him to her friends unless she obeyed his demands.”
Fearing Kazi’s threats, the victim felt “compelled” to continue sending him explicit photos and videos. Shortly afterwards, the victim’s Snapchat account was hacked and the content she had shared with Kazi was sent to her friends. She subsequently reported Kazi to Derbyshire Police in November 2021.
The case was later transferred to Cheshire Constabulary after enquiries established that Kazi’s last known address was in Chester. However, checks revealed that he had since left the area and his whereabouts were unknown. He was then circulated as wanted while enquiries to trace him continued. It was later established that Kazi had left the country.
He was arrested on his return to the United Kingdom at Heathrow Airport in July 2023 and was interviewed in relation to the allegations made by the first victim.
“His mobile phone was subsequently seized and examined by the force’s Digital Forensics Unit (DFU). The examination uncovered evidence of what investigators believe to be the largest network of offending ever encountered by OCAIT,” Cheshire Constabulary said.
Snapchat revelations
Going by investigation records, one of the victims in a Snapchat conversation with Kazi, wrote: “And tbh (to be honest) Im not sending anymore nudes I don’t like it and it makes me Uncomfortable.”
To this, Kazi, posing as Reece, a 14-year-old boy, replied: “really.”
The victim then wrote: “Yes that’s me being honest I didn’t want to tell you BC (because) I feel like it would (missing text) you off the fact I dont want to send anymore.”
Kazi replied: “Yes that’s why I always have back up coz I knew u would do something like that c.”
The victim then asked him: “you have a backup?”
In response, he proceeded to send her three files, and the victim told him to delete them.
Further, in other similar conversations on Snapchat, Kazi was seen convincing the victims to share sexually explicit photos of themselves. In one such instance, the victim told him: “I will do it later, I’m cleaning rn (right now).” He then asked her to turn on the location, adding: “very over protective x go on snap setting, location n add to these friends xx.”
180 potential victims
Police officers, so far, have identified 180 potential victims, with specialist Victim Identification Officers working to trace those targeted by Kazi using usernames and other data recovered from his device. “As a result, 70 victims, aged between 11 and 17 at the time of Kazi’s offending, were identified across 28 of the UK’s 45 police forces,” said Cheshire Constabulary in its statement on 13 November.
The youngest victim in the case is an 11-year-old.
Once identified, each of the 70 victims were visited by police officers and offered the opportunity to disclose their experiences of Bilal Kazi’s offending.
“When girls refused to send more (photos and videos), he blackmailed them by threatening to share the images. In one case, he posted a video online that was viewed by 93 people,” the Crown Prosecution Service said.
By the time Cheshire Constabulary launched its investigation, Kazi was already a registered sex offender and was subject to a Sexual Risk Order when he committed some of these offences.
The investigation revealed how Kazi used a consistent method to target his victims. “He would contact them through social media platforms, including Snapchat, Roblox and Wink, posing as a white British teenage boy called ‘Reece’. Using photographs of an unidentified boy, he would quickly groom the victims into believing they were in a genuine relationship with him,” Cheshire Constabulary said.
The investigation also found that, once he had gained their trust, “Kazi would begin requesting explicit images and videos from his victims.
“He manipulated the young girls into believing that sharing such content was a normal part of being in a relationship. His demands would soon escalate, with victims being pressured into recording themselves performing sexual acts.”
When victims refused to comply, “Kazi would threaten to share the images and videos they had already sent him.” These threats left victims feeling frightened and intimidated, and some continued to engage with him out of fear, the Cheshire Constabulary said.
Adding, “In some cases, Kazi maintained contact with his victims for more than a year, deceiving them into believing they were in a relationship with someone entirely different.”
Kazi was ultimately charged with 39 offences as part of Cheshire Constabulary’s OCAIT investigation, relating to offending committed between August 2021 and August 2025. He pleaded guilty to 37 of the charges, with two being left to lie on file.
He was also charged by West Midlands Police with a further eight offences committed while on police bail for the Cheshire investigation. These offences were considered as part of his overall sentence. The charges include causing a child aged 13-15 to engage in penetrative sexual activity, blackmail, and making indecent images of children.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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