Cheshire Constabulary raid Crewe headquarters and make arrests
Cheshire Constabulary raided the headquarters of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light in Crewe on Wednesday morning and made a number of arrests during an investigation into allegations of serious sexual offences, modern slavery and forced marriage. About 500 officers from across the north-west of England were deployed, and the operation also covered other properties in Crewe.
Ch Supt Gareth Wrigley said the force was not yet able to confirm how many arrests had been made and said the investigation was focused on individual suspects. He said police had warrants to enter the group’s headquarters and other properties in Crewe, Cheshire.
Crewe headquarters search
Police searched the premises after the arrests. About 150 people live together in the group’s grade II-listed building in Crewe, and about 56 children are understood to be living there and are home-schooled.
The arrests came after Cheshire police were alerted in March about a woman now based in the Republic of Ireland who complained of being raped and sexually abused at AROPL’s headquarters. All of the alleged offences took place in 2023, when she was a member of the group.
AROPL members and allegations
The suspects are men and women from America, Mexico, Britain, Germany and Spain. AROPL moved its headquarters to the UK in 2021 from Sweden, and Swedish immigration authorities issued deportation orders to dozens of its members.
AROPL’s lawyers said, “Our client has no comment other than to say that any wrongdoing is vehemently denied.” The force’s focus on individual suspects rather than the religious group as a whole leaves the criminal case centered on the arrests and searches already carried out in Crewe.
