Sussex Police Smash Major County-Line Drug Gang in Brighton
Sussex Police have dealt a crushing blow to a notorious county-line drug gang operating in Brighton and Hove. After a relentless two-year probe by the city’s Community Investigation Team (CIT), nine gang members have been locked up for their role in a sprawling organised drug conspiracy.
Massive Jail Terms Handed Down at Lewes Crown Court
On Friday, October 28, six offenders were sentenced at Lewes Crown Court to a combined 46 years and nine months behind bars. Charges included conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine. They joined three others already jailed in 2020 for over seven years, bringing the total number of prisoners tied to this racket to nine.
The Ruthless ‘HECTOR’ Line
The drug line, dubbed ‘HECTOR’, was exposed in August 2018 after a mobile phone linked to dealing heroin and crack cocaine was found. Unlike typical county lines controlled from big cities like London, senior members ran the operation locally within Sussex — giving police a unique edge in nabbing offenders up and down the chain.
Using violence, intimidation, and exploitation, the gang targeted vulnerable young people, forcing them to handle street-level drug deals while bosses raked in the cash.
Operation Success: Dozens Arrested and Drugs Seized
Through a mixture of covert surveillance, intelligence gathering, and relentless enforcement, officers from Sussex’s CIT teamed up with the Metropolitan Police to bring down the gang. Over several years, the HECTOR line recycled phone numbers to stay under the radar — some of which appeared on devices linked to five drug-related deaths between 2018 and 2020.
The investigation built a strong case against senior, mid, and street-level members, proving a concerted conspiracy rather than isolated supply offences.
Gang Members and Sentences
- Ahmed Issa, 27, Plaistow: 9 years for conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine.
- Abdulqafar Farah, 26, Tower Hamlets: 8 years for conspiracy charges.
- Abdijabar Ahmad, 23, Tower Hamlets: 5 years and 3 months.
- Anice Ali Nur, 21, Tower Hamlets: 4 years and 6 months.
- Mustafa Ahmed, 25, no fixed address: 10 years.
- Tamer Elsherif, 50, Worthing: 10 years.
- Hamse Musa, 26, Tower Hamlets: 3 years since Feb 2020; assets seized under Proceeds of Crime Act.
- Hussen Dualeh, 30, Billericay: 3 years 4 months since Feb 2020; assets seized.
- Kieran Rice, 19, Southall: 8 years in a young offenders’ institute for conspiracy and racially aggravated public order.
Detective Inspector Dee Wells, of Brighton and Hove’s Community Investigations Team, said: “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.”
