Three Afghan men who fled UK in lorry are jailed for raping teenager they groomed on Snapchat

Three Afghan nationals who raped a 17-year-old girl after grooming her on Snapchat have been sentenced to prison, concluding a case that began with a chance encounter during a Christmas shopping trip and ended when French authorities intercepted the men hiding in the back of a lorry as they attempted to escape the country.

Mehrab Safi, 21, Awal Ahmadzai, and Salman Habibkheli, both 19, were convicted on 26 June of multiple sexual offences committed against the teenager at a residence in the St Werburghs area of Bristol last year. The court heard the attacks took place in November 2025, barely days after the victim first made contact with one of her eventual attackers.

At Bristol Crown Court on Tuesday, Judge Michael Cullum handed Safi a 15-year prison term, while Ahmadzai and Habibkheli each received nine-year sentences in a youth detention centre. A fourth defendant, a 17-year-old Afghan boy who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was convicted of rape and sentenced to two years and seven months in youth detention. Unlike the three older men, he did not attempt to leave the UK before being arrested.

The sentencing judge said the victim had suffered "unimaginable" trauma as a result of being trafficked and raped. The case has drawn attention to the speed with which online grooming can escalate into serious sexual violence, particularly when social media platforms are used to isolate and manipulate young victims.

According to Avon and Somerset Police, the sequence of events began on 25 November 2025, when the girl travelled to Bristol for the first time with a friend on a Christmas shopping excursion. During that trip, she visited the Cabot Circus shopping centre, where she encountered Safi. The two exchanged phone numbers and Snapchat details, setting in motion a chain of events that would culminate in her being transported across the county and assaulted over a period of hours.

Over the following five days, Safi communicated with the teenager primarily through Snapchat. Detective Sergeant Jo Babbage told the court that this is where "the grooming and the contact process was started." Safi persuaded the girl to send nude photographs of herself, exploiting the trust he had built during their brief initial meeting.

The interaction took a more ominous turn when Safi arranged and paid for a taxi to collect the girl from her home in Somerset and drive her to Bristol in the early hours of 30 November. The journey, which removed the teenager from her support network and deposited her at an address in St Werburghs, marked the beginning of what prosecutors described as a sustained attack.

When the girl arrived at Safi's home, she was given alcohol before being sexually assaulted and raped by the three men and the teenage boy over the course of several hours. The court heard that officers from Avon and Somerset Police ultimately located her at the property after her mother reported her missing, a report that triggered the police response and likely brought the ordeal to an end.

In a victim impact statement read aloud to the court, the teenager described how the attacks had fundamentally altered her life. She said she had been left "traumatised" by the experience and now lives in constant fear of leaving her home. "I had a lot more friends, I would go out a lot more, I was happier," she said. "Now, I've stopped going out, I don't even leave the house in general."

She explained that she can only venture outside if accompanied by her best friend or her mother, adding that even the thought of going out alone induces panic. The teenager also described how her mind attempts to suppress the memories of what happened, but that they resurface during periods of emotional difficulty, sometimes manifesting as disturbing dreams.

Detective Sergeant Babbage praised the victim's courage throughout the investigation. She noted that the girl had been left "very traumatised" by the attacks but had nevertheless shown remarkable bravery in reporting what had happened and supporting the prosecution. Babbage also reflected on the broader implications of the case, telling the court that the circumstances — a simple Christmas shopping trip that ended in such violence — would instil fear in any parent.

The three adult defendants did not remain in the Bristol area after the attacks. They fled from police, travelling first to Birmingham and then to London before attempting to leave the United Kingdom by hiding in the back of a lorry. Their escape attempt was foiled when French police stopped the vehicle and discovered the men inside, leading to their detention and eventual return to face justice.

The case has highlighted concerns about the vulnerability of teenagers to online grooming and the potential for social media platforms such as Snapchat to be exploited by predators. It also underscores the challenges facing law enforcement when suspects attempt to flee across international borders, and the importance of cross-border cooperation in ensuring that perpetrators are held accountable.

For the victim, the conclusion of the legal process brings a measure of justice, though the psychological scars described in her statement suggest that recovery will be a long and difficult process. Her account of withdrawing from social life, avoiding public spaces, and experiencing intrusive memories is consistent with the experiences of many survivors of sexual violence, who often face ongoing mental health challenges long after the immediate physical danger has passed.

The sentences handed down by Judge Cullum reflect the severity of the offences and the aggravating factors involved, including the premeditation demonstrated by the grooming process, the transportation of the victim across county lines, and the defendants' attempts to evade justice by fleeing the country. The case serves as a reminder of the devastating consequences that can follow from seemingly casual online interactions, and the importance of vigilance among parents, educators, and young people themselves regarding the risks posed by strangers on digital platforms.