An Indian-origin student in the UK has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for grooming at least 70 underage girls, manipulating them into sending sexually explicit pictures and videos, and blackmailing them into complying with his demands.

Bilal Kazi, 27, who was studying at the University of Chester, was sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty to 37 charges, including making indecent images of children, blackmail and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Described by British authorities as a "serial online groomer", Kazi targeted girls aged between 10 and 17 using social media and gaming platforms, including Snapchat, Roblox and Wink, between August 2021 and August 2025.

He posed as a 14-year-old white British boy named "Reece", using photographs of an unidentified teenager to gain the trust of his victims and make them believe they were in a genuine romantic relationship with him.

Once he had established contact, Kazi would gradually demand increasingly intimate photographs and videos. According to a BBC report, when girls expressed reluctance, he would tell them that sharing such content was "what people do when they love each other".

He would then threaten to leak the images and videos they had already shared with him to their friends and family if they refused to meet his further demands.

In some cases, he hacked into their social media accounts, circulated the content among their contacts and posted the images online.

The court heard how Kazi also secretly recorded some of the content through Snapchat and used it to blackmail the girls.

HOW THE GROOMING RACKET CAME TO LIGHT

The investigation began after a 13-year-old girl approached UK Police in December 2021. She told investigators that she had started speaking to Kazi on Snapchat, believing him to be a boy of her own age.

Their conversations soon turned sexual, with Kazi asking her inappropriate questions and pressuring her to share explicit images.

In July 2021, the girl told him that she wanted to remain friends and no longer wished to send him pictures. Kazi responded by abusing her, calling her names and claiming that she was his property.

He also threatened to circulate the material she had previously shared unless she continued complying with his demands. Fearing that her pictures would be exposed, the girl continued sending him explicit content.

Her Snapchat account was subsequently hacked, and the material was shared with her friends. She reported the matter to police in November 2021.

The investigation was later transferred to the UK's Cheshire Constabulary after officers established that Kazi's last known address was in Chester. Although he had left the city and the university, he was arrested at Heathrow Airport on July 21, 2023, upon returning to the UK.

Police initially identified 180 potential victims.

Specialist victim identification officers examined usernames and other data recovered from Kazi's devices, eventually identifying 70 victims across 28 of the UK's 45 police forces.

They were aged between 11 and 17 at the time of the offences.

Each identified victim was approached by police and given an opportunity to disclose their experiences.

YOU ARE A VERY DANGEROUS PERSON: JUDGE

Sentencing Kazi on November 13, Judge Stephen Everett described him as a sexual predator who exploited what appeared to be inadequate security on social media platforms to target vulnerable children, as per a BBC report.

"It is incomprehensible to me why any person would do what you did to those little girls," the judge said.

He added that Kazi had stripped children of their sense of safety even within their own homes through his misuse of social media.

"You are a very dangerous person," Everett said, adding that Kazi had used sophisticated methods to get into the minds of young people and make them do things that were completely alien to them.

The judge said he found it difficult to identify any mitigating circumstances and expressed doubts about Kazi's remorse.

Kazi must serve a minimum of 20 years before becoming eligible for parole. He will also remain on the sex offenders register for life and, if released on parole, will be subject to licence conditions for eight years.

- Ends