Mohammed Zahid

The offences established in Operation Lytton took place between 2001 and 2006. The two victims, who did not know one another, were aged 13 when the abuse began and were particularly vulnerable. Zahid, known as 'Boss Man' and described in court reports as the ringleader, used his lingerie stall at Rochdale Indoor Market as a point of contact. He provided underwear, money, food and alcohol, among other things, with the expectation that the girls would have sex with him and his associates. The court heard that he telephoned the children's home where Girl B lived and collected and returned her, conduct described by the prosecution as showing that he considered himself 'almost untouchable'. Prosecutors described the two teenagers as being treated as 'sex slaves' by the network; that description concerns the system of exploitation and does not mean Zahid personally committed every act alleged against the victims. According to the CPS, Zahid was found guilty of ten counts of rape, four counts of indecency with a child, one count of attempting to procure a girl under 21 to have unlawful sexual intercourse and five counts of procuring, making twenty offences. He was sentenced to 35 years' imprisonment on 1 October 2025. He was the only one of the seven men convicted at this trial found guilty of offences against both victims. Zahid continued to deny the allegations.

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The same verdict included four counts of indecency with a child against Zahid.

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Zahid was found guilty of five counts of procuring a girl under 21 to have unlawful sexual intercourse and one count of attempting to procure.

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Greater Manchester Police announced 32 charges against Zahid, including rape, trafficking within the United Kingdom for sexual exploitation, penetrative sexual activity with a minor, gross indecency and procuring a minor for sexual intercourse with unidentified men.

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Zahid, nicknamed 'Boss' or 'Bossman', operated a stall at Rochdale Indoor Market. The two victims, aged 13 when the abuse began, worked there informally. He gave them jobs, underwear, money and other gifts before beginning to sexually exploit them.

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Girl B described repeated rapes by Zahid and Mushtaq Ahmed on a mattress in the cold, damp basement of Ahmed's shop. The subsequent verdicts found Zahid guilty of multiple rapes.

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The CPS established that Zahid took one of the teenagers to different addresses, where she was given alcohol and expected to have unprotected sex with other men, including Ahmed, Bashir and Khan.

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The court observed that Zahid collected Girl B from and returned her to the children's home where she lived, conduct presented at sentencing as evidence of his confidence that he would not be challenged.

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Zahid also exploited Girl A, a teenager distinct from Girl B, using the same market setting, gifts, money and a relationship of trust.

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The trial established that Zahid had sexual intercourse with Girl A in his car after taking her to Manchester to buy stock for his stall; she was still wearing her school uniform. He was subsequently found guilty of rapes involving both victims.

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After beginning to exploit Girl A, Zahid introduced her to Roheez Khan at a flat in Rochdale; the victim subsequently had sex with Khan, who was convicted in 2025 of one count of rape involving Girl A.

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Operation Doublet concerned a series of sexual offences committed in Rochdale. Zahid, then a market trader, was found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child involving an underage victim and sentenced to five years' imprisonment. Subsequent reporting on his 2025 sentencing clarified that he had met the victim when she was a teenager buying tights at his stall; she was groomed after her telephone number had been circulated. This case is separate from Operation Lytton, tried in 2025.

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In a separate case disclosed before the 2025 trial, Zahid had met an extremely vulnerable teenage girl at his stall when she came to buy tights for school. He subsequently engaged in sexual activity with her in 2005–2006.

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