Editing Mazher Mahmood (section)

===Notable stings===
====Emma Morgan====
In 1995, Mahmood, using his "Mohammed Al-Kareen" persona, contacted model Emma Morgan and invited her to Lanzarote under the pretence of discussing a bikini modelling contract. Mahmood hired a man known only as "Billy" to assist in the sting, offering his services as Morgan's bodyguard. Mahmood supplied "Billy" with cocaine and cannabis to give to Morgan so she could be framed as a drug dealer.

During a secretly-recorded meeting, "Billy" gave Morgan cocaine and cannabis, which she took. Mahmood, disguised as the sheikh, then asked Morgan to get him some cocaine. Off-camera, he used the modelling contract to pressure her into agreeing to buy more cocaine from "Billy". That night, Morgan bought two bags of cocaine from "Billy" and slid them under Mahmood's door. Mahmood soon left without further discussing the contract and published a ''News of the World'' story about the meeting, changing it significantly so that it appeared he had payed her for drugs. Morgan was sacked from her contract with ''The Sun'' soon after as a result of the sting.

====John Alford====
In 1997, Mahmood targeted actor John Alford for a drug sting. Alford was invited to meet "His Royal Highness, Mohammed Al-Kareen" at the Savoy Hotel in London. Before the meeting, Mahmood's secret camera recorded him laughing about the prospect of Alford being sent to prison because of the sting. When Alford arrived, Mahmood offered him the chance to work with Robert Di Niro and Sylvester Stallone in a film being shot in Dubai if he supplied him with drugs. Alford agreed, buying two grams of cocaine and eleven grams of cannabis from a friend of his and gave the drugs to Mahmood, in a meeting secretly caught on tape.

Mahmood published a story in the ''News of the World'' breaking the story, getting Alford arrested for drug dealing. He testified at Alford's trial, falsely claiming to have been tipped off by a contact that Alford was a drug dealer. Alford's attempt to defend himself by claiming entrapment failed and he was sentenced to nine months in prison. He served six weeks before being released and fitted with an electronic tag.

====Victoria Beckham kidnap plot====
In 2003, Mahmood payed £10, 000 pounds to an Albanian man named Florim Gashi to set up a fake plot to kidnap musician Victoria Beckham and her children for a £5, 000, 000 pound ransom. Gashi recorded meetings with his co-conspirators discussing ransom money. Mahmood eventually called the police, leading to the arrest of the gang and allowing the ''News of the World'' to run a front-page story on the kidnap plot. However, the trial collapsed seven months later after evidence of Mahmood's payments to Gashi was found, casting doubt on his reliability as an informant. One of the defendants later successfully sued the ''News of the World'' for libel. Mahmood was investigated by the UK Attorney General, but no action was taken.