Several drug dealers including some running county lines have been jailed already this year.
Officers in Sussex Police's Operation Centurion team, which targets county drugs lines, have said they are coming for drug dealers "anywhere, at any time".
PC Dave Oliver, of the Op Centurion team, said: “Our efforts continue to target prolific drug dealers and protect vulnerable drug users.
“It is essential we catch criminals before they have the opportunity to escape or conceal evidence."
Asllan Hasbajrami
Asllan Hasbajrami was caught after he was unable to spell the name on his fake driving licence.
The drug dealer was driving a vehicle without a valid licence or insurance in Preston Road, Brighton, on October 14, 2023, when his vehicle came to the attention of patrolling police officers.
When stopped, they noticed the 21-year-old became nervous.
He gave a false name to the officers and produced fraudulent identification documents.
Police found cash, two burner phones and 16 wraps of cocaine inside the vehicle.
Hasbajrami was charged with being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs, driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence, driving without valid insurance and obstructing or resisting arrest.
At Lewes Crown Court on January 12, he admitted the charges and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Hasbajrami, formerly of an address in Beaconsfield Road, Brighton, will face deportation to Albania following his prison sentence.
Liam Batchelor
Liam Batchelor was jailed for selling heroin and crack cocaine to vulnerable drug users.
Officers executed a Misuse of Drugs Act warrant at an address in Crawley, where dealer Liam Batchelor was arrested as part of a county lines crackdown on November 30 last year.
Sussex Police had discovered that Batchelor was operating a drugs line supplying heroin and crack cocaine to vulnerable drug users in the area.
The 37-year-old, who referred to himself in bulk text messages as “Tilgate Liam”, was found in possession of six mobile phones.
Police examined the phones and found evidence that he was dealing drugs.
Batchelor, of Boswell Road, Tilgate, was charged with being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin, which he pleaded guilty to, and was sentenced to three years and nine months’ imprisonment when he appeared before Lewes Crown Court on January 12.
Charlie Angel
This 19-year-old exploited younger teenagers to run his cocaine operation.
Charlie Angel, of North Place, Brighton, was in control of the “Snupe” county drug line in the area.
Sussex Police were initially searching for a high-risk missing person who the force expected was being exploited and involved in supplying cocaine.
The boy, 17, was located safely, along with two other children aged 16 and 17 at a flat in Peacehaven in August last year. Officers found cocaine being prepared for distribution in the flat.
A number of mobile phones were seized and examined, which linked all three people to Angel.
Angel was then arrested at an address in Northampton on August 16 and found in possession of the drug line phone.
He was charged with being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin, which he admitted and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison at Lewes Crown Court on January 19.
Leon Dodson
The drug dealer was jailed after two men were stabbed at a hotel.
Leon Dodson first came to Sussex Police's attention after a raid at a property in Pottingfield Road, Rye, following concerns and reports of drug-related crime.
Officers uncovered drug paraphernalia, some £360 cash and several mobile phones.
A lengthy investigation ensued following the bust in September 2022, involving interviews with Dodson, who was found at the address, and enquiries into messages found on the phones relating to the supply of drugs and criminal activity.
The 25-year-old was arrested in May last year after police received reports that two men had been stabbed at Queens Head Hotel in Rye.
He was charged the following day with grievous bodily harm with intent, attempted grievous bodily harm with intent, possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, affray and criminal damage and remanded into custody.
In October 2023, he was also charged with being concerned in the supply of a Class A drug (cocaine) and in the supply of a Class B drug (cannabis) in relation to the warrant conducted the year before.
At Lewes Crown Court on November 4, Dodson was sentenced to 58 months’ imprisonment having pleaded guilty to the GBH offences.
On January 29, he was sentenced to a further 28 months’ imprisonment, having pleaded guilty to the drug offences, to run concurrently.
Jonid Cufaj, Julian Cufaj, and Urim Peraj
These three drug dealers operated a county line supplying cocaine to Eastbourne.
Jonid Cufaj, Julian Cufaj and Urim Peraj, operated the “Tony” mobile phone line supplying the drug from Essex to Eastbourne.
Jonid, 25, a labourer of London Road, Romford, was the leader of the group while his younger brother Julian, 22, unemployed of Southend Arterial Road, Havering, was also linked to the drug supply line in Essex.
They worked with Peraj, 25, unemployed of Cavendish Avenue, Eastbourne, who acted as the drug dealer in the town.
A drug user was stopped in Eastbourne in February 2023. It led to police uncovering the “Tony” line.
Police carried out searches at four addresses, seizing drugs and mobile phones as part of the investigation.
All three were sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on January 31.
Jonid Cufaj was found guilty of being concerned in the supply of a class A drug between January 1, 2022, to February 7, 2023. He was jailed for six-and-a-half years.
Julian Cufaj was found guilty of the same offence, as well as being concerned in the supply of cocaine from November 25, 2022, to February 8, 2022, and being concerned in the supply of cannabis in the same period. He was jailed for five-and-a-half years in total.
Urim Peraj was found guilty of being concerned in the supply of cocaine during the same period. He was jailed for five years.
Adnan Mayanja and Asher Robinson
These two county line drug dealers were jailed for supplying heroin and crack cocaine.
Adnan Mayanja and Asher Robinson were part of a county line drugs operation called Bingo which supplied drugs between East Sussex and London.
Through intelligence and reports, Sussex Police and the Metropolitan Police had identified the county drug line.
Last June, officers from the two forces conducted simultaneous warrants in Eastbourne and London.
Robinson tried to evade officers and flee his home in Sherrard Road, London, throwing away mobile phones and his driving licence, but was found and arrested.
Police examined the discarded phones which proved Robinson was involved in the running of the Bingo line. Officers also found £1,600 in cash at Robinson’s address.
Mayanja was arrested on the same day at his home in Walton Road, London.
In Eastbourne, officers conducted a warrant at an address in Northbourne Road and seized mobile phones and several thousands of pounds of cash.
Richardson was charged with being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine and Mayanja was charged with being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine and possession of criminal property.
The pair, both 26 years old, were remanded into custody.
On February 9 this year they appeared before Lewes Crown Court after pleading guilty to offences in July 2023.
Mayanja was sentenced to five years and seven months’ imprisonment and Robinson was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.
Gary Bendall and Nazmul Miah
Police caught Nazmul Miah red-handed with thousands of pounds worth of class A drugs in his underpants.
The drug dealer, 43, was a passenger in Gary Bendall’s car when it was stopped in Houghton Hill, Houghton, near Arundel.
The pair were returning from London and were stopped by officers from Sussex Police because their vehicle was deemed to be suspicious.
Miah, of St James Square, Chichester, handed over wraps of class A drugs worth £7,500 which he had concealed in his underwear.
And phones linked to Bendall, 37, had evidence of extensive drug dealing in and around Chichester.
At Lewes Crown Court on February 16, both men were convicted and sentenced.
The court heard how officers from Sussex Police's specialist enforcement unit (SEU) stopped the vehicle on May 9 last year.
Phone messages showed drug dealing linked to both men.
An investigation was completed by detectives from the Chichester criminal investigations department and both men were charged.
Bendall, of Meaden Way, Felpham, admitted being concerned in the supply of diamorphine (heroin) a class A drug, and being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine, also a class A drug.
He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.
Miah admitted the same two charges and possession of criminal property.
He was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison.
Fiorent Muharremi
Armed police caught Fiorent Muharremi after he took a taxi for just 100 metres.
Officers from the tactical firearms unit on plain-clothes patrols spotted the drug dealer acting suspiciously in Clifton Road, Brighton, at the junction with Clifton Hill.
The 20-year-old got into a taxi and was taken just 100 metres before getting out of the vehicle again.
He was stopped and detained by the officers for a search.
They found packages of white powder in Muharremi’s jacket pocket.
Muharremi was arrested and charged following the search on February 7.
At Lewes Crown Court on Thursday, March 7, he admitted possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply and a Class B drug with intent to supply.
Muharremi, of no fixed address, was sentenced to two years in custody in a youth offenders' institution.
Danny Wilder
This dealer was caught with drugs worth almost £1 million.
Danny Wilder, of Vale Road in St Leonards, was detained after being seen behaving suspiciously by officers in Cloudesley Road, St Leonards.
The 38-year-old was searched, found with a small amount of cocaine and cash and arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.
When officers searched his home following his arrest on May 19, they found around 10kg of cocaine and 16kg of cannabis, plus around £30,000 in cash.
The drugs are believed to have a street value of around £930,000.
Wilder was subsequently charged with possession with intent to supply Class A and Class B drugs and money laundering.
At Lewes Crown Court on Monday, June 19, 2023, he pleaded guilty to all charges.
At Brighton Crown Court, Wilder was sentenced to seven years for possession with intent to supply Class A drugs, three years for possession with intent to supply cannabis and two years for money laundering, all to run concurrently.
Ahmet Arslan
A drug dealer and runner were sentenced after an investigation into an Eastbourne drug line.
Seven drug lines which ran between North West London and Eastbourne were identified by officers.
It was discovered that these drug lines were linked to Ahmet Arslan, 30, of Clandon Gardens, London.
Arslan would operate a drug line from London and would receive and send messages to multiple drug runners and collect the proceeds.
After a drug line would become inactive, it was heard he would set up a new one almost straight away.
Radovan Vukmir, 42, of Seaside Road, Eastbourne, would carry out the exchanges in the town on behalf of Arslan.
In July 2023, officers from Sussex Police’s Project ADDER team and from the Met Police’s Op Orochi team conducted warrants in Eastbourne and London.
Officers carried out a Section 8 PACE warrant at an address in Clandon Gardens, London, where Arslan was arrested, and his phones were seized.
Later that day, Vukmir was seen at an alleyway near his home address on Seaside Road, Eastbourne and was arrested. Phones were seized from his address after police conducted a Section 18 warrant.
Arslan and Vukmir were charged in July 2023 with being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin and remanded in custody. They both pleaded guilty in January.
The pair appeared before Lewes Crown Court on Friday, March 15, for sentencing.
Arslan was sentenced to 173 weeks’ imprisonment and Vukmir was sentenced to 101 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 24 months.
The judge found that Vukmir played a lesser role and had no influence of the drug line nor had any awareness of the scale of the operation.
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