Three members of an Asian sex gang who used mephedrone to turn abuse victims into addicts and forced them to have sex if they wanted more drugs were jailed for a total of 56 years today.

Seventeen men and one woman from Newcastle are being sentenced over the next three days for crimes including rape, sexual assault, inciting girls into prostitution and drug dealing.

They were part of a network of nearly 40 men, including Pakistani, Indian, Iranian, Iraqi, Bangladeshi and Turkish nationals, who preyed on around 100 girls.

Victims said in impact statements they were treated 'like a piece of meat' by their abusers, who they believed were friends, and one woman branded the gang 'monsters'.

Mohammed Azram, 35, was jailed for 12 years for picking up abuse victms from Newcastle's West End and rapist Jahangir Zaman, 45, who gave girls lines of M-Cat and demanded sex if they wanted more, was jailed fore 29 years

One teenager didn't eat for a week because she was so hooked on mephedrone, also known as M-Cat, but her abusers would only give her more after she performed sex acts on them.

Mohammed Azram, 35, picked up vulnerable girls from a courtyard in Newcastle's West End and gave them drugs he referred to as 'god' because of the power it had over victims.

Today he was sentenced to 12-and-a-half years while his rapist accomplice Jahangir Zaman, 45, was jailed for 29 years. A third man, Shafiq Aziz, was jailed for 15 years for drugs offences.

John Elvidge QC, prosecuting, said the victims who gave evidence in court were white British and the male defendants were 'all of Asian extraction' and mostly British-born - but added the authorities decided their offending was not racially motivated.

One victim spoke about seeing a woman during a visit to one of the flats used by the gang, who appeared to be being treated as a 'slave'.

She said men boasted that the 'slave' 'would do anything sexually in return for money and drugs' and described the men 'dropping things on the floor and making her pick them up'.

Shafiq Aziz was jailed for 15 years for drugs offences involving heroin and crack cocaine

Another said about the grooming gang: 'They reel you in and wear you down'.

The gang's victims told of suffering long term effects in many aspects of their lives as a result of their ordeals.

They have been left with trust issues and are wary of forming new relationships.

One woman said: 'These people made me feel like they were my friends and made me feel supported. 'I thought they were my friends, they made me feel nice about myself. '

But the authorities decided their offending was not racially motivated, he added.

He said girls were invited to parties and given alcohol and mephedrone and one victim said she witnessed another being treated like a slave.

Mr Elvidge said: '(The witness) described her as looking upset, she was dirty, the bedclothes were dirty, her clothes were ripped.'

Men would drop things on the floor and make her pick them up.

Azram, who appeared polite, decent and kind, was in fact using grooming behaviour, Mr Elvidge said.

Azram, who married in Pakistan, played a 'leading role' in the conspiracy, he added.

Sex gang: (Top row left to right) Abdul Sabe, Habibur Rahim, Badrul Hussain, Abdulhamid Minoyee, Jahanger Zaman, Monjur Choudhury, (middle row left to right) Taherul Alam, Hassan Ali, Nadeem Aslam, Mohammed Azram, Yassar Hussain, Saiful Islam, (bottom row left to right) Eisa Mousavi, Prabhat Nelli, Mohibur Rahman, Nashir Uddin, Redwan Siddquee and Carolann Gallon, will all be sentenced this week for sexual abuse and other crimes

Immature teenagers were plied with drugs (pictured by police) and alcohol and then raped or persuaded into engaging in sexual activity with older men

Linda Strudwick, defending, said Azram was a drug addict who had enjoyed running a shop his parents bought for him.

His barrister said he hoped to live with his sister, a bank worker, in Dubai when he is released, as the state is drug-free.

She said he attended Grainger Grammar School before moving to 'Durham Boys' School' but got into drugs after moving to Newcastle College for his GCSEs.

Harrowing evidence of 13-year-old victim raped by men 'like they were in a relay race' One girl who gave evidence claimed she was repeatedly raped by men acting as if they were in a 'relay race' at one of the sex parties. The vulnerable 13-year-old, who was in local authority care, told the court how she would regularly be supplied with cash, cigarettes and drugs in exchange for sex. She spoke of how she would be picked up in a Mercedes from the children's home where she was living and taken to flats in Newcastle to be used by anyone who wanted her. Prosecutor John Elvedge QC told the court how during one attack she was high on cocaine while men took turns to have sex with her. Mr Elvedge said: 'She said she felt wrecked. The man who brought the Mcat had sex with her when she was in no position to consent. 'The second man was followed by several others, all taking advantage of her. 'She said it was like a relay race, one man after another, each having sexual intercourse with her to which she did not consent.' On another occasion, the girl was taken to a party at a flat where there was a group of seven men in a room with a Kurdish flag on the wall and was given Mcat, the court heard. Mr Elvedge added: 'She attempted to resist the first man. She was given more Mcat then, one by one, they took their turn having sexual intercourse with her.' The court heard when she left she was driven back to the children's home and given £200 along with more Mcat. Advertisement

He admitted a string of drugs offences and was convicted of one count of sexual assault and one count of inciting prostitution.

Rapist Jahangir Zaman, 45, gave girls lines of M-Cat and demanded oral sex if they wanted more, Mr Elvidge said.

Recalling one victim's evidence, the barrister said: 'She didn't want to do it, but she did want the drugs.

'It was made quite clear sex was the price she had to pay for the M-Cat.'

When Zaman was interviewed by police he denied the offences, saying he was married with daughters the same age as the complainants.

He was convicted of rape, supplying drugs and inciting prostitution.

Roy Brown, defending, said: 'He blames no one but himself.'

A repeat drug dealer, Zaman was also caught in a separate police operation to target the heroin trade.

Their victims today described them as 'monsters'.

In a victim statement, another said she still had flashbacks to what happened to her six years ago at 'sessions' where girls were given drugs and then persuaded or forced to have sex.

And a third said the gang members put her down and thought 'they are superior to women, and girls do not have the same rights as men'.

The statements were read out during a sentencing hearing at Newcastle Crown Court where three men were due to be dealt with.

The prosecutions followed the long running Operation Shelter investigation into sexual exploitation, largely in Newcastle's West End.

The inquiry involved the controversial use of a police informant who was himself a child rapist and was paid almost £10,000 by Northumbria Police.

The abuse centred around the use of drugs.

'The girls were expected to offer sexual services in return,' Mr Elvidge said.

'The court heard that the women who were being exploited sometimes consented, sometimes did not consent and sometimes were incapable of consenting.'

Carolann Gallon, known to her friends as 'Chucky', is the only female member of the gang and was responsible for luring other girls into their clutches

The men were more driven by the vulnerability and availability of their victims, Mr Elvidge said.

Eight men were convicted of conspiracy to incite prostitution, while others prosecuted were involved in supplying drugs.

The prosecutor described the conspirators' method as 'cynical and systematic' in that they tricked victims into believing they were in a relationship with their abusers.