Police launched a large-scale raid on Wednesday morning on the headquarters of a fringe religious organisation in Crewe following an investigation into allegations of serious sexual offences, modern slavery and forced marriage. Around 500 officers drawn from across the north-west of England descended on the site and made a number of arrests. The operation targeted the headquarters of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, known as AROPL, which is based in a former orphanage in Crewe, Cheshire, as well as other properties connected to the group in the same town.
As reported by the Guardian the investigation was triggered in March after Cheshire Police received a complaint from a woman now living in the Republic of Ireland. She alleged she had been raped and sexually abused at AROPL's headquarters in 2023 while she was a member of the group. The suspects identified in the case are men and women of American, Mexican, British, German and Spanish nationality.
