A man who ran a sprawling online blackmail operation targeting young Muslim men and teenagers has been jailed for 16 years after a court heard he used more than 100 fake social media accounts to obtain intimate images and sexually exploit victims.Waleed Saeed, 31, a UK-born man of Somali heritage, was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court after being convicted of 17 offences, including rape, attempted rape, blackmail and making indecent images of children, BBC reported.The court heard that Saeed spent years creating fake identities across social media and dating platforms, using them to contact young men across the UK. After gaining their trust, he persuaded victims to send intimate photographs and videos before threatening to reveal the material to family members and friends.Prosecutors said many of those targeted were young Muslim men and teenagers who feared the consequences of their sexuality becoming known within their families or communities.In some cases, Saeed demanded money to keep the images private. When victims could not meet his demands, he used the threat of exposure to maintain control over them and, on occasion, arranged in-person meetings that led to sexual offences.The case came to light after an 18-year-old reported being raped in a London park in August 2024. Investigators later uncovered a wider pattern of offending that stretched back several years.Police traced Saeed through evidence recovered during the investigation and seized mobile phones containing intimate images linked to numerous victims, including children.Earlier this year, Saeed admitted several offences, including blackmail-related charges and making indecent images of a child. A jury later found him guilty of additional charges, including rape, attempted rape and further blackmail offences.Sentencing him, Judge Greene said Saeed had deliberately exploited victims’ fears of being exposed.“You took advantage of the fact that cultural issues made them particularly vulnerable to the threat of exposure,” the judge told him.The Metropolitan Police believe the scale of the offending may be far greater than the cases already before the court. Detectives are now examining around 100 additional potential victims linked to Saeed’s activities.
