HARIBOS, lollipops, an energy drink, condoms and a bottle of Durex lubricant.

That’s what paedophile Shahmaan Ahmed brought with him when he planned to meet and rape a three-year-old and an eight-year-old in Reading last year.

The 29-year-old, of Roman Road, London had been traced by Thames Valley Police’s paedophile online investigation team (POLIT) for two months before he travelled to the town.

DC Nick Hook, from POLIT, told the Chronicle police used a decoy to act as an intermediary to arrange Ahmed's meeting.

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The pervert arranged a meeting with the children -- who were both not real -- via Snapchat.

On August 26, 2020, Ahmed travelled to a pre-arranged location in Reading.

Here, he was stopped by DC Hook’s team and arrested.

In a video showing this confrontation, Ahmed tells police he is a paedophile hunter -- a claim that is immediately rebuffed by an officer who tells them that he travelled to Reading to rape a three-year-old and an eight-year-old.

And this argument didn’t stand up in court, either, with a jury ‘seeing through’ his excuses.

He was sentenced to eight years in prison for child sex offences at Reading Crown Court last week.

DC Hook: “There was no evidence of him trying to expose anybody else. So paedophile hunter organisations gather information and pass it on to the police.

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“He hadn't done any of the things that a paedophile hunter group would do. He hadn't done any of those things.

“There were other conversations he was having which were alarming. And obviously, that the jury saw through his attempts to convince them that he was actually a paedophile hunter.”

The POLIT was created in 2011 in order to tackle online sexual abuse.

In the last 12 months:

There have been more than 30 referrals from regional organised crime units (ROCUs) all around the country, including the South East ROCU, and there have been 33 arrests in the Thames Valley area for offences relating to online grooming and sexual communication with children.

Across the Thames Valley Policing area there have been 176 arrests in the past 12 months for offences relating to online grooming and sexual communication with children.

There have been 131 convictions across the Thames Valley Policing area in the last 12 months in relation to possessing/distributing indecent images of children.

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DC Hook explained how his team of seven detectives works with serious crime units from across the globe to stop online predators like Ahmed.

He said: “It's not just the southeast region Organised Crime Unit we work with, we work with regional organised crime units all over the country, on this type of operation, covertly and overtly, continuously.

“And we get referrals from not just ROCU, but various organisations from all over the world. We have referrals from North America, from New Zealand, about people attending online, which we obviously investigate.”

DC Hook also said his team does not work ‘with’ online paedophile hunting groups set up independently from the police, but that his colleagues do get tip offs from these entities.

The Thames Valley Police officer continued: “I understand their desire to protect children, it's in most of our human nature to want to protect children.

“But the message I want the public to know, is people hear about these things, and it happens to somebody else, or always happens in the movies or on TV, but it's real, and it's happening out there.

“I don't want to scare monger or frighten people, but they just need to be aware.

“And if they have concerns about people's activity online, then don't take the law into their own hands, contact their local police service and report it.

“It'll be investigated whether that's a concern about your child and their online activity or a friend or a partner. Either way, report it and don't go putting yourself at risk.”