Named, the US ‘cyber troll’ suspect accused of bringing misery to a Greater Manchester family
POLICE SAY EVIDENCE AGAINST WOMAN IS STRONG ENOUGH TO BRING CHARGES – BUT THEY’RE UNABLE TO EXTRADITE HER
GREATER Manchester Police have named an American woman they suspect of being behind a spate of malicious phone calls.
And they have warned that if she sets foot in the UK she will be arrested.
The force has spent an estimated £10,000 responding to 16 malicious calls relating to one address in Oldham.
They have attended other homes in Greater Manchester after false intelligence was passed to them in fake 999 calls.
The force believes the same person is responsible and a detective from GMP has spent two years investigating complaints.
But the guidance they received from the Crown Prosecution Service was that the offence constituted harassment and would carry a maximum sentence of six months in jail if proven.
For extradition proceedings to be pursued an offence must carry a custodial sentence of 12 months.
A GMP spokesperson said: “The level of harassment we suspect is being inflicted by Nibah Gazi, a woman who we believe resides in the United States, is having an understandably traumatic effect on law-abiding citizens in the UK.
“GMP officers have worked hard to build a case based on the evidence provided by victims, however, whilst we believe the evidence is strong enough to bring charges, the offence does not meet the threshold to initiate extradition.
“Should Gazi ever travel to the UK, she would be arrested for suspicion of harassment and malicious communications. Whilst GMP has a duty of care to turn out to calls of this nature, we are supporting the victims of this harassment as much as possible.”
Ms Gazi’s solicitor in the UK has told the M.E.N. that she denies every allegation against her. He said she had never harassed anyone, either in the UK or elsewhere, and had not been involved in any form of criminal activity whatsoever. He claimed she herself had been the target of harassment and bullying, ‘much of which is centred around her being a member of the LGBTQ community.’
In the US, Ms Gazi faced combined civil proceedings from five victims, three from the US and two from the UK, in the New Jersey Municipal Court.
The M.E.N. understands those proceedings involved claims of cyber harassment, intimidation, and threats of terrorism and that on September 30, at a hearing in the case, Ms Gazi’s lawyer claimed his client could ‘plead the 5th amendment’ meaning she could not self incriminate herself.
He also argued that because no police force either in the US or the UK had brought criminal charges against Ms Gazi,
the allegations were all hearsay and should be dismissed.
The civil court agreed and the case against Ms Gazi, 43, formerly a resident of Sullivan Court, Florence Township, New Jersey, was dismissed. The M.E.N. understands she now lives in Millstone Township, also in New Jersey. Deborah Green was handed the case on her first day as a detective with GMP in March 2018. For more than two years she has compiled a dossier of evidence against the alleged cyber troll, who is alleged to have created havoc in both Britain and US for years.
Hoax calls have resulted in GMP deploying firearms officers and other police to the homes of innocent people, including that of businessman, Mr Nazir.
Mr Nazir has been plagued at intervals since 2017, by incidents which police and Mr Nazir believe to be the work of the same troll.
He says that 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.
Police have 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 estimated by the force to be ‘well over £10,000.’
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 initially gave the false male name Kareem Gazi, 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 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. He claims he established through social media the person was actually named Nibah Gazi.
An investigation by Det Con Green collated evidence which appeared to show that seven other victims from Birmingham, London, and Yorkshire, had been targeted by the same troll.
She said that ‘wild’ allegations made against Mr Nazir, including that he was a paedophile, were untrue.
Seven other people later provided statements, from Birmingham, London, Yorkshire and the US. The allegations were again that people in the music industry were being targeted. Det Con Green said: “The abuse was similar to that experienced by Mr Nazir, calling people paedophiles, saying people should not work with them – trying to ruin their livelihoods basically.” The investigation is still live. “If she were to walk into this country she would be interviewed by me.”
A US victim, Aurora Er-raoui, told the M.E.N.: “I do believe she is going to drive someone to kill themselves one of these days.
“I wish the authorities took this matter seriously. She ties up the emergency service lines with her false accusations; it’s a waste of taxpayers’ money for both the US and the UK.”
I do believe she is going to drive someone to kill themselves one of these days Aurora Er-rarori