Members of a grooming gang who sexually abused vulnerable girls in Newcastle after plying them with drink and drugs will be sentenced today.
Teenagers were given alcohol and the class B drug mephedrone, known on Tyneside as Bubbles, and passed around by men they believed were their boyfriends.
It later emerged that during the major Operation Shelter investigation by Northumbria Police, the force paid a convicted rapist almost £10,000 to inform on the gang which largely operated in the West End of Newcastle.
Jahangir Zaman will be sentenced for his part in the grooming gang in Newcastle (PA Archive)
The last of four trials at Newcastle Crown Court ended last month, and the prosecutions finished with 17 men and one woman being convicted.
Four have already been sentenced and the remainder will be dealt with by Judge Penny Moreland this week.
Among those being sentenced today are:
Mohammed Azram, 35, of Croydon Road, Newcastle, who admitted five drugs offences and was convicted of one count of sexual assault and one count of conspiracy to incite prostitution for gain.
Jahangir Zaman, 45, of Hadrian Road, Newcastle, who was convicted of rape, supplying drugs and inciting prostitution.
Nadeem Aslam, 43, Belle Grove West, Newcastle, who admitted possessing cannabis and was convicted of two counts of supplying drugs, one count of possessing drugs and one count of permitting premises to be used in the supply of drugs.
Abdul Sabe, 40, of Dean House, Walker, Newcastle, who was convicted of conspiracy to incite prostitution, conspiracy to traffic for sexual exploitation, conspiracy to commit sexual assault, and supplying drugs to victims. He was already on the sex offenders’ register.