Sussex Police have successfully dismantled a notorious county-line drug gang operating in Brighton and Hove, resulting in nine members being jailed after a two-year investigation led by the city’s Community Investigation Team. The gang was involved in a large-scale conspiracy supplying heroin and crack cocaine.
On October 28, six additional gang members were sentenced at Lewes Crown Court to a total of 46 years and nine months in prison. These sentences add to the three gang members already imprisoned in 2020 for over seven years for the same conspiracy offences.
The gang’s operation, known as the HECTOR line, was first identified in August 2018 when a mobile phone connected to drug transactions was discovered. County lines typically involve major cities like London pushing drugs into smaller towns using mobile phones to coordinate deals.
Unlike many county lines controlled remotely by senior gang leaders in large cities, the HECTOR line’s top figures operated directly within Sussex. This unique local presence allowed police to target all levels of the gang hierarchy effectively. The group exploited vulnerable young people through violence and intimidation, forcing them to conduct street-level drug sales while the leaders managed the profits.
A comprehensive police operation involving two years of covert surveillance, arrests, and intelligence gathering, supported by the Metropolitan Police, led to dozens of arrests and the seizure of large quantities of drugs, severely disrupting the gang’s network. The gang frequently changed phone numbers over a four-year period. Some of these numbers were linked to five individuals who died from drug-related causes between 2018 and 2020.
The investigation produced strong evidence charging senior, mid-level, and street dealers with conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine, highlighting the organised nature of the drug trafficking beyond simple possession.
The following gang members received prison sentences:
- Ahmed Issa, 27 (Plaistow) – 9 years for conspiracy to supply heroin and crack.
- Abdulqafar Farah, 26 (Tower Hamlets) – 8 years for conspiracy to supply heroin and crack.
- Abdijabar Ahmad, 23 (Tower Hamlets) – 5 years 3 months.
- Anice Ali Nur, 21 (Tower Hamlets) – 4 years 6 months.
- Mustafa Ahmed, 25 (No fixed address) – 10 years.
- Tamer Elsherif, 50 (Worthing) – 10 years.
- Hamse Musa, 26 (Tower Hamlets) – 3 years (jailed February 2020) plus assets seized.
- Hussen Dualeh, 30 (Billericay) – 3 years 4 months (jailed February 2020) plus assets seized.
- Kieran Rice, 19 (Southall) – 8 years in a young offenders’ institute, also charged with a racially aggravated public order offence.
Detective Inspector Dee Wells of Brighton and Hove’s Community Investigations Team commented on the operation: “This was a long, complex investigation into an organised crime gang responsible for spreading untold devastation among our communities. The supply of illegal drugs is hugely destructive, going hand in hand with violence and exploitation, and underpinning all manner of wider criminality. As harmful substances, they also decimate the lives of their users.”
The successful crackdown sends a strong message that Sussex Police will continue to aggressively target county-line gangs that damage local communities.
Originally published by UKNIP.
