Troll has terrorised My whole life...
A businessman has become innocent victim of a cruel hoaxer who sends police to his home and posts false allegations on social media, writes
ON June 13 this year three police officers knocked on the door of a house in Oldham.
They were responding to a call that a break-in was in progress.
It was a false report.
For the man who lives there, Rangzib Nazir it was the return of a nightmare which has lasted four years and is destroying his life.
At the time of the police visit in June, Mr Nazir was actually abroad visiting his dying father.
But his panic-stricken son called him to say police were at the house.
Mr Nazir knew exactly what it all meant.
A cyber troll who has plagued his life at intervals since 2017 was at it again.
Mr Nazir is among a number of people – on two continents – who have fallen victim to a sick campaign of false allegations, orchestrated by the same person, police believe.
While false allegations that he is a child abuser have sought to destroy Mr Nazir’s reputation online, accusations that he is a violent criminal have wrecked his family life.
Time and again, Mr Nazir or his family have been woken by police in the middle of the night.
On one occasion, armed officers and 16 police cars descended on his street after reports that he had illegal firearms.
Greater Manchester Police has confirmed to the M.E.N. that they have attended Mr Nazir’s home 16 times as a result of hoax calls, at a cost to the forced estimated by the force to be ‘well over £10,000.’
And then there’s also the Facebook post in which, Mr Nazir says, his tormentor offered £300 to anyone who would stab and kill his son.
And yet, police and the Crown Prosecution Service in the UK say they are powerless to act.
The woman he alleges to be responsible for the trolling is American, based in New Jersey, and so far out of reach of British justice.
Mr Nazir is the owner of Lockdown Promotions, which puts on pop concerts, and a security company.
He says his problems began in December 2017, when he was approached by someone who said they were interested in booking some acts for an event in the US.
He became concerned, he says, when his contact revealed herself to be a woman - having previously claimed to be a man - and suggested it would be ‘fun’ to put cameras in the room to secretly record the young acts.
When he told her he wanted nothing more to do with the deal, she is said to have vowed to ‘destroy’ him.
“I reckon I have had more like 20 visits from the police orchestrated by the troll,” Mr Nazir told the M.E.N.
“The ‘intelligence’ given to GMP has included allegations that I am a child molester, that I have guns in the house; that I am involved in sex trafficking; that I have children captive in the house.
“Once she mentions guns and children obviously the police come down quite heavy.
“A firearms officer has come to my house and while inside she has rung me on my mobile and I have told the officer ‘it’s her, can I answer it.’ He said ‘yes,’ and told me to put it on speaker. She was laughing saying ‘have they shot you yet.’
“The officer said to her ‘do you know who I am? Do you think this is a game? Do you think it is a laugh.’ She said to him ‘do your job and shoot these P...s”
He added: “The most recent incident was when I had to be in
Pakistan because my dad was ill. He eventually passed away. My son rang up quite panicky at 6am. Three officers had turned up saying they had received reports of a break-in.
“It’s not just me. Police forces throughout the UK have had calls from her, including Derbyshire and Birmingham. To my knowledge GMP have got six recordings of her.
“GMP have closed the case. They have said there’s nothing we can do, but I know how hard some officers have tried. It is disgusting. The only conviction I have is for a breach of the peace in 1987. I have actually helped police in the past with information about a paedophile in my community.
“I was doing well regarding events and the security team. But if someone says you are a paedophile and rings your sponsors up and targets them and the venues with the same false information it will have an impact. “She called a restaurant on Bury New Road we were working with to make the allegations but they have worked with me for a long time and knew they were false.
“No one can understand why she has not been arrested. GMP have told me that if she set foot in Britain she would be.”
Mr Nazir added: “Mentally it has impacted on me badly. I wake up in major stress all of the time. I will be talking to big companies and they will ask if I have ever been in trouble with the police and I will say ‘oh you have seen the stuff online’ and have to explain.”
It is understood GMP have had no option but to respond to all the calls to his home when told lives were in danger or serious criminal offences were being committed.
Following the most recent incident, Greater Manchester Police told the M.E.N this in a statement: ““It was soon established the 999 call had been made from the USA and was a hoax believed to be linked to 15 other calls made in 2018 in relation to the same address.
“Unfortunately, GMP are no longer investigating the matter following consultation with the CPS, but we recognise the stress this has caused the victim and for this we apologise.
I reckon I have had more than 20 visits from the police orchestrated by the troll Pullquote attribution in here and here and here
“We do everything we can to trace repeat offenders of this type of malicious communication and appeal to those who are making the calls to stop - and to think about if it was a member of their family who may need help in an emergency.”
GMP say that the suspect cannot be extradited for harassment offences, but say they are assisting the US in supplying them with all of the evidence gathered here in the UK to see if it could assist their case.
A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said in November 2019 they were asked by GMP for early advice on their investigation.
They’ve confirmed that harassment carries a maximum sentence of six months, and to pursue the extradition of a suspect, the offence they are charged with must hold a minimum sentence of 12 months.
The CPS said: “We have previously been advised that legal proceedings are being considered in the United States in relation to these matters.”
In America, the practice is referred to as ‘swatting’ - meaning bogus reports designed to ensure police or SWaT (Special Weapons and Tactics) teams are called to an address.
A number of other people - on both sides of the Atlantic - have told the M.E.N they’ve been targeted by the same woman.
One victim from the London area, who has asked not to be named, told the M.E.N: “She continually threatened to get my house swatted.
“She targeted me because I am a friend of Mr Nazir. She snatched my profile picture on Facebook, and put on it I was the ‘biggest slag’ with my contact number. She found out where I worked and I had to get in touch with my employer to explain.
“This went on for months, she backed off, then started again in September. She put a picture of me and a friend on one of her fake accounts calling me a ‘slag.’
Meanwhile, a victim in the US told the M.E.N. he had been a victim of the same woman ‘for about a decade.’
“This woman is responsible for terrorizing my entire life,” he said.
“The most horrific thing she will do is post pictures of children in my family on social media and state that I rape and molest them.
“Seeing her consistently make these false accusations has caused me much mental anguish.”
Last month the woman accused of being responsible for the trolling appeared in court in New Jersey, facing accusations of harassment from five people in the UK and the US.
For her part, the woman made counter claims against Mr Nazir, accusing him of harassment over several months through the use of the internet and other electronic devices.
But at the court in New Jersey all of the cases were dropped, with a spokesperson saying in a statement to the M.E.N that ‘the matters were administratively dismissed for lack of prosecution.’