West Midlands Police said 10 suspects aged between 19 and 30 were charged yesterday following an inquiry into the alleged abuse of five girls aged between 16 and 18 at various locations across Coventry.

Three brothers and their two homeless cousins are among those charged with the offences, which were committed between May and September last year

Brother Gulfraz, Izthkhab and Ifaraz Banaris, aged 20, 24 and 25 respectively, were charged with conspiracy to traffic girls across Coventry for the purposes of sexual exploitation.

The two youngest brothers, who are from Wood End and Coventry, were also accused of rape.
Their cousins, Ismail and Isa Iqbal, who are 20 and 21 respectively, and who have no fixed address, also face trafficking charges.

All appeared before Coventry magistrates yesterday and were remanded into custody until their next hearing at Coventry Crown Court in November.

Mechanic Saleem Hussain, 30, from Coventry, and Khezer Hussain, 25,from Stechford, have been charged with sexual assault and rape.

While Ricardo Hickson, 23, from Radford, Amir Mahmood, 27, from Foleshill, and milkman Tasveer Hussain, 30, also from Foleshill, were charged with conspiracy to traffick within the UK for the purposes of sexual exploitation.

They will all appear at Coventry Magistrates Court today.

Coventry PPU Chief Inspector Sue Holder, said: 'Protecting young people from harm is a priority for West Midlands Police and the force takes reports of sexual and physical abuse extremely seriously.
'Anyone convicted of sexual exploitation, in whatever form, can expect to be dealt with severely by the courts.'