At 8.50am local time, police under surveillance from a police helicopter raided the headquarters of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light (AROPL) at the former orphanage Webb House in Crewe, where around 150 adults and children live, as well as two other properties. One of those arrested was the group’s spiritual leader Abdullah Hashim Abba Safiq.
Seven men, with US, UK, Mexican, Spanish, German and Egyptian nationalities, were arrested on suspicion of a range of crimes including human trafficking, forced marriage, sexual assault, modern slavery, rape and assault. Three women, with Italian, Swedish and American nationalities, have been arrested on suspicion of modern slavery offenses and sexual assault.
A further 13 people were arrested on suspicion of causing public disorder at the property.
Cheshire Police said they were made aware last month of allegations of serious sexual offending, forced marriage and servitude, which were reported to have occurred in 2023, all involving a female member of the group.
AROPL is a millenarian religious movement derived from Twelve Shia Islam. It has no connection with the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. Dr. Sarah Harvey, senior research officer at Inform, explained that the project began in Basra, Iraq, in the late 1990s and is currently active in 40 countries.
In 2018, the movement was based in Sweden, but in 2021 it was based in the UK after a raid by Swedish police. Followers wear black beanies and many of its beliefs, such as allowing alcohol consumption, are antithetical to Islam, leading to the group suffering religious persecution in many Muslim-majority countries. The group believes that the Illuminati controls the United States and that aliens control the President of the United States.
Chief Superintendent Gareth Wrigley said: “Although those arrested are members of the group, this is not an investigation into religion but into serious allegations.”