Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Men spike woman's drink with MDMA before sexually assaulting her in CCTV released by police

Footage shows pair slipping drugs into a drink inside an off-licence, while their victim waited outside

Tim Wyatt
Monday 15 October 2018 13:10 BST

Two men who were caught on CCTV spiking a woman’s drink before raping her have been jailed for 24 years in total.

Mizad Miah, of Bethnal Green Road in East London, and Belal Ahmed, of Devas Street, also in East London, were sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

The two men were convicted after pleading not guilty to charges of tricking a female friend into drinking the spiked alcohol, before sexually assaulting and raping her.

Mizad Miah and Belal Ahmed, who have been jailed for a combined 24 years
Mizad Miah and Belal Ahmed, who have been jailed for a combined 24 years (Met Police)

In November last year the victim, a 21-year-old woman who both men knew, was picked up by Miah and Ahmed in their car in Bethnal Green.

They had promised to show her a flat she was interested in renting, but instead drove to an off-licence. While the woman waited outside in the car, Miah and Ahmed bought alcohol in the shop.

But before they returned to the car they surreptitiously added something to the bottle and shook it. Unknown to them, this had been caught on the off-licence’s CCTV and would prove vital in their conviction.

Toxicology testing later revealed that the pair had put MDMA, a Class A drug, into the drink.

The men then returned to the car and forced their victim to drink the spiked alcohol by pinching her nose shut. The woman later lost consciousness, after which she was sexually assaulted by both men and then raped by Miah.

She awoke hours later, sitting on the side of the road outside the car wearing only her vest and underwear, to the laughs of her assailants.

The two men then drove her around various car parks in the area to pick up her clothes which they had tore off while they attacked her.

Eventually, at 3am the victim was released and managed to make her way to a friend’s house. She reported her ordeal to the police the following day.

Detectives investigating the incident quickly discovered she had been drugged and later tracked down the CCTV footage, which proved Miah and Ahmed’s guilt.

Two men are caught on CCTV slipping a date rape drug in a drink before a horrific sexual assault
Two men are caught on CCTV slipping a date rape drug in a drink before a horrific sexual assault (Met Police)

The attackers were arrested at Gatwick Airport just eight days after the rape was reported, after coming back from a holiday to Morocco.

Miah was convicted of rape, administering a substance with intent to overpower to allow sexual activity and assault by penetration, and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Ahmed was also convicted of administering a substance with intent to overpower to allow sexual activity and assault by penetration, and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Detective Constable Danny Pridige, from the Met Police’s specialist sexual offences unit, said: “I would like to thank the victim for her great courage and strength in reporting this despicable incident.

“She gave invaluable evidence which was vital in ensuring these two dangerous men have been taken off our streets and put behind bars. I hope today’s sentencing result gives her some measure of comfort and closure.”

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in