Cruel Grindr gang filmed sex with married men - including Manchester dad - before blackmailing them for thousands

A blackmail gang attempted to extort tens of thousands of pounds from two married businessmen after having sex with them, a court heard.

Kamar Ilyas, 34, slept with the two victims, who felt compelled to keep their sexuality a secret from their communities, before the plot developed into aggressive threats. The scheme involved threatening to tell the wives of the victims and share explicit footage of the sexual encounters on social media.

Both victims were married to women but directly contacted Ilyas who was using false names both on male escort websites and the dating app Grindr. They were persuaded to meet up but soon found themselves victims of blackmail plots in which they were ordered to pay up or face consequences.

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They made false accusations of paedophilia against both men. One victim was 'effectively held hostage' in a bedroom while being recorded before being driven round in a car for about three hours while threats were made that they would visit his home and tell his wife and children, LancsLive has reported.

Ilyas was assisted by Aman Khan, 33, in blackmailing one victim, a man from Manchester, and by both Khan and Khalil Chaudry, 29, in a separate plot involving a second victim, a man from Burnley. The trio went before Preston Crown Court after admitting offences relating to the plots at earlier hearings.

Prosecuting, Sarah Haque said the victim in the Manchester case was a married father and comes from 'an ethnic community where homosexuality is not permitted'. She said he worked until the early hours of the morning and had used male escort websites named ‘Sleepy Boy’ and ‘Manchester Lads’ to arrange secret liaisons.

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