COPS took down a huge asylum seeker grooming gang in Glasgow - but kept it secret.

The gang preyed on vulnerable young girls in the city, and had at least 44 victims, including a core group of six youngsters who were all known to each other.

Police Scotland took down a grooming gang but kept it secretCredit: Alamy

It's believed one may have been abused by 28 men, with another linked to 23.

55 suspected members of the vile group were identified by officers, with 46 positively identified.

All were asylum seekers from the Kurdish, Afghani, Egyptian, Moroccan, Turkish, Pakistani or Iraqi communities.

Operation Cerrar was kept under wraps by Police Scotland, and has now come to light after an investigation by the Daily Express.

Cops say 19 members were reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal, but its unknown how many were convicted.

Briefings from the 2016 operation are stored in the archives of the Glasgow Child Protection Committee.

The sick group targeted vulnerable young girls

The horrifying extent of the gang's activities was laid bare in a National Child Abuse Investigation Unit report by Detective Inspector Sarah Taylor.

22 of the suspects were still living in Glasgow at the time, with a further eight still thought be in the UK.

14 had been deported, with another awaiting deportation and one in prison.

Under the heading 'Victims', the report states: "Girl 1 - 28 suspects, Girl 2 - 23 suspects, Girl 3 - 9 suspects, Girl 4 - 8 suspects, Girl 5 - 4 suspects, Girl 6 - 1 suspect. All are known to one another. 20 other named girls believed to be victims. A further 18 girls were identified through the course of the current investigation."

Cops say they used "disruption tactics" including intelligence gathering, covert policing, financial and "lifestyle" profiling - looking at the suspects' associates, vehicles and employment.