Online groomer Bilal Kazi jailed for 30 years

Bilal Kazi, 27, has been jailed for 30 years after admitting to 33 child sex offences. The offences, which occurred between 2021 and 2025, involved 19 victims. Kazi targeted over 70 young girls on social media and gaming platforms, including Snapchat, Wizz, Wink, and Roblox.

Grooming and blackmail tactics

Kazi used a false identity and alias online to groom victims, posing as a boyfriend and pressuring them to send explicit images and videos. He threatened to leak these images online, leading some victims to send more content out of fear. The court heard that Kazi also committed six counts of blackmail. His youngest victim was 10 years old. Cheshire Police indicated that there could be as many as 180 potential victims who have not yet been identified.

Judge Steven Everett, Recorder of Chester, described Kazi as a "very dangerous person" and noted the profound psychological damage inflicted on the victims, stating that he had "taken away their childhoods." The court heard that indecent images were twice leaked online, leading some young victims to become suicidal. One victim's shared video led to her being bullied and falling into severe depression, resulting in an overdose. Another victim had an indecent video posted on her profile, visible to 93 friends.

Investigation and arrest

The investigation was initiated in May 2022 after a victim's mother discovered messages from Kazi. Kazi, originally from Mumbai and studying chemical engineering in Birmingham, had left the UK. He was arrested at Heathrow Airport in July 2023 upon his return from Kuwait. His mobile phone was seized during the arrest. Despite being on bail, Kazi continued to target teenage girls.

Cheshire Police described their investigation into Kazi as the force's largest ever online child sexual abuse case. The identified victims, aged between 10 and 17 at the time of the offending, were spread across 28 UK police force areas. Detective Constable Georgia Hughes stated that the scale of the offending required significant resources and collaboration. She emphasised that online offences have a profound and lasting impact on victims, often overshadowing formative years with trauma.

Detective Sergeant Ross Peel urged victims not to feel ashamed and stressed that responsibility lies solely with the offender. He advised parents to discuss online safety with their children and take an interest in the platforms they use. He added that offenders hiding behind screens will be identified and brought to justice.

Kazi was rearrested and remanded into custody in August 2025. During the investigation, police found hundreds of category A child sex abuse videos and thousands of messages exchanged with one victim over three weeks.