Man who robbed and blackmailed men he met on dating app jailed

A man who used a dating app to target and rob men after having sex with them has been sentenced to five years’ in jail.

Detectives are now appealing for others who may have been exploited by him to come forward.

Anouar Sabbar, 28 (1.1.94), of Cole Street, Southwark was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Thursday, 20 January.

He pleaded guilty to robbery, theft, five counts of blackmail and five counts of fraud at the same court on 8 November 2021.

Sabbar would seek out and meet men who have sex with men on Grindr, a dating app for gay, bi and trans people. After consensual sex, Sabbar would state he was an escort and demanded money from the victims. He also threatened to use violence or blackmail in order to intimidate the men, whose ages varied from 25-57-years-old.

He stole a total of £2,360 between April 2019 and June 2021 from the victims.

Once he got the money, Sabbar would block the victim’s profile on the app, which automatically removed the online conversation for both parties, making it difficult for him to be traced. Sabbar would swap his SIM cards and mobile phone number regularly and often changed his hairstyle so he wasn’t recognised.

During one of the incidents, a victim refused to pay Sabbar so he told him someone will visit his address and beat him up. In another incident, Sabbar threatened to tell the victim’s girlfriend about their sexual encounter and disclose their chat history and photographs if he did not make payments.

An officer investigating a robbery of one the victim’s in Tower Hamlets identified Sabbar as the suspect. She then compared similar offences and identified Sabbar from various phone numbers, addresses, aliases and usernames used. Once it was determined Sabbar was the suspect for the offences, a manhunt to arrest him began.

On Tuesday, 31 July officers attended his home address. He was not at the address so they went to his place of work and spoke to colleagues, who provided a current phone number. An officer called him and Sabbar swore at her, telling her they would never catch him.

Later that day, officers found another address for Sabbar in Southwark through intelligence checks and he was arrested. A subsequent analysis of his phone revealed evidence of further incidents of the same nature.

Sabbar gave a no comment interview and was charged with 23 offences including robbery, theft, blackmail and fraud. he was remanded into custody.

Detective Inspector Arif Sharif said: “The victims in this case have been incredibly brave in coming forward and reporting the offences Sabbar committed against them.

“Sabbar is a nasty and spineless individual who used Grindr to target victims and used their vulnerabilities against them.

“It is with thanks to the officer who diligently carried out the investigation that this dangerous offender has been taken off the streets.

“There may be others who were exploited by Sabbar who until now have felt unable to tell anyone. Please get in touch with us – we are here to listen to you and will take what you say incredibly seriously. You will be treated with sensitivity and in confidence.

“In situations such as this, the Met is focused on the motive and behaviour of the offender, rather than the behaviour of the victim. I would therefore urge anyone who has been a victim of crime following a meet on Grindr or similar platforms to speak to us directly quoting Op Fardella. Alternatively contact us through a third party support group such as Galop or reach out 100% anonymously using the independent charity Crimestoppers.”

Superintendent Martin Kirby the Met’s Lead for Hate Crime said: “We do not tolerate the targeting of victims based on their sexuality or gender, or perceived sexuality or gender, and anyone who does come forward to disclose an allegation of crime of this nature will be treated sensitively and in confidence.

“We are working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service to protect the identities of victims in these cases, recognising that some victims may not identify as gay or bisexual or be ‘out’ to friends or relatives, perhaps because of cultural reasons. I can also fully appreciate that some victims may feel embarrassed about coming forward, or are perhaps nervous about speaking to a police officer due to other factors. We are doing all we can, by working closely with other agencies, to give victims the support that is right for them.

“In the Met we have 125 volunteer LGBT+ advisers who speak to our communities, listen to their concerns and encourage them to report crime. We’re working to recruit more and reviewing their role to make sure they are working in the best way possible for our communities. We have also set up a new LGBT+ Organisational Improvement Group, with stakeholders from across London, to ensure the Met understands and meets the needs of LGBT+ Londoners.”

If you believe you or someone you know has been a victim, please call 101 quoting Op Fardella. In an emergency always call 999. Alternatively, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or crimestoppers-uk.org. You can also contact the charity Galop by calling their LGBT+ hate crime helpline on 0207 704 2040 or visiting galop.org.uk.