Locked up in Sussex: These are some of the criminals jailed in April 2023

Published 27th Apr 2023, 11:10 BST

Updated 29th Apr 2023, 18:43 BST

Sussex’s judges, juries and magistrates were busy in April.

These are some of the most serious, high-profile and prolific offenders who were jailed in the fourth month of 2023.

All information comes directly from Sussex Police.

1. Locked up in Sussex: These are some of the criminals jailed in April 2023

These are some of the most serious, high-profile and prolific offenders who were jailed in the fourth month of 2023. All information comes directly from Sussex Police. Photo: Sussex Police

A member of a county line drug dealing gang in Sussex has been jailed, Sussex Police has confirmed. Seyed Mousavian, 42, of Grand Parade in Brighton, was jailed for ten years at Lewes Crown Court on Thursday, March 23, after being found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, police reported. Police said Mousavian is the tenth person jailed following a two-year investigation into the HECTOR county drugs line, identified as being behind the distribution of crack cocaine and heroin in Brighton and Hove. Since 2020, ten people involved in the HECTOR county line, including senior gang leaders, have been jailed for a total of more than 64 years, Sussex Police said. County lines dealing is the sale of drugs from large urban areas, such as London, into smaller towns and cities such as Brighton. Dealers and customers are linked by mobile phone numbers, through which deals are conducted. Typically the main number is controlled by a distant, senior gang member in the larger urban area, but the HECTOR line bucked that trend, police said. Instead, senior members operated within Sussex, giving investigators a greater opportunity to target offenders at all levels of the hierarchy. As is common practice for county lines dealing, the group targeted young and vulnerable individuals through violence, exploitation and intimidation, employing them to carry out street dealing on their behalf while higher level leaders maintained control of the money, Sussex Police said. During more than two years of covert and overt operations, surveillance, intelligence gathering and enforcement, dozens of people were arrested and huge amounts of drugs were seized as officers from the Community Investigations Team (CIT) partnered with the Metropolitan Police to disrupt the gang’s activity, police said. Sussex Police said the investigation found the HECTOR line changed phone numbers four times over four years. These numbers were found on the mobile phones of five people who died in drug-related circumstances between 2018 and 2020,

2. Locked up in Sussex: These are some of the criminals jailed in April 2023

A member of a county line drug dealing gang in Sussex has been jailed, Sussex Police has confirmed. Seyed Mousavian, 42, of Grand Parade in Brighton, was jailed for ten years at Lewes Crown Court on Thursday, March 23, after being found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, police reported. Police said Mousavian is the tenth person jailed following a two-year investigation into the HECTOR county drugs line, identified as being behind the distribution of crack cocaine and heroin in Brighton and Hove. Since 2020, ten people involved in the HECTOR county line, including senior gang leaders, have been jailed for a total of more than 64 years, Sussex Police said. County lines dealing is the sale of drugs from large urban areas, such as London, into smaller towns and cities such as Brighton. Dealers and customers are linked by mobile phone numbers, through which deals are conducted. Typically the main number is controlled by a distant, senior gang member in the larger urban area, but the HECTOR line bucked that trend, police said. Instead, senior members operated within Sussex, giving investigators a greater opportunity to target offenders at all levels of the hierarchy. As is common practice for county lines dealing, the group targeted young and vulnerable individuals through violence, exploitation and intimidation, employing them to carry out street dealing on their behalf while higher level leaders maintained control of the money, Sussex Police said. During more than two years of covert and overt operations, surveillance, intelligence gathering and enforcement, dozens of people were arrested and huge amounts of drugs were seized as officers from the Community Investigations Team (CIT) partnered with the Metropolitan Police to disrupt the gang’s activity, police said. Sussex Police said the investigation found the HECTOR line changed phone numbers four times over four years. These numbers were found on the mobile phones of five people who died in drug-related circumstances between 2018 and 2020, Photo: Sussex Police

A St Leonards man who absconded from crown court during his trial for rape and sexual assault more than eight years ago has been jailed after being spotted on the BBC’s Crimewatch ‘Most Wanted’ appeal by German police. Sussex Police said detectives were determined not to give up the hunt for Sarbaz Najmadeen Ali who went on the run. Police said Ali, 36, formerly of Stockleigh Road, St Leonards, was found guilty of committing a rape, an attempted rape, assault by penetration and two counts of sexual assault against his victim in Hastings in 2013. Ali had been granted bail by Hove Crown Court that allowed him to leave the dock during the lunch break in his trial in September 2014, as long as he did not leave the building, police said. However, part way through the judge's summing up during the hearing, Ali fled from the court and disappeared. He was convicted by a jury in his absence, Sussex Police said. A warrant was issued by the judge for the arrest of Ali, who had previously worked as a barber in the town and an appeal to trace him were issued by Sussex Police. Police said he was later featured on BBC’s Crimewatch ‘Most Wanted’ appeal following his conviction. An officer from the German Polizei in Regensburg, on conducting research into Ali while he was in custody in Germany for suspected offences, recognised him from the Crimewatch photographs. He told Sussex Police that Ali was in their custody. However, Ali was extradited to France for offences he had committed there before a European Arrest Warrant could be executed, said police. Ali was convicted of a sexual assault committed in France and given a one-year prison sentence, said police. Sussex Police had to wait until he had served this sentence before the European Arrest warrant could be executed. He was arrested in France and extradited back to the UK. He appeared at Lewes Crown Court on April 5 where he was sentenced to a total of seven years imprisonment for the offences, plus a further three years on an extended licence. Police said

3. Locked up in Sussex: These are some of the criminals jailed in April 2023

A St Leonards man who absconded from crown court during his trial for rape and sexual assault more than eight years ago has been jailed after being spotted on the BBC’s Crimewatch ‘Most Wanted’ appeal by German police. Sussex Police said detectives were determined not to give up the hunt for Sarbaz Najmadeen Ali who went on the run. Police said Ali, 36, formerly of Stockleigh Road, St Leonards, was found guilty of committing a rape, an attempted rape, assault by penetration and two counts of sexual assault against his victim in Hastings in 2013. Ali had been granted bail by Hove Crown Court that allowed him to leave the dock during the lunch break in his trial in September 2014, as long as he did not leave the building, police said. However, part way through the judge's summing up during the hearing, Ali fled from the court and disappeared. He was convicted by a jury in his absence, Sussex Police said. A warrant was issued by the judge for the arrest of Ali, who had previously worked as a barber in the town and an appeal to trace him were issued by Sussex Police. Police said he was later featured on BBC’s Crimewatch ‘Most Wanted’ appeal following his conviction. An officer from the German Polizei in Regensburg, on conducting research into Ali while he was in custody in Germany for suspected offences, recognised him from the Crimewatch photographs. He told Sussex Police that Ali was in their custody. However, Ali was extradited to France for offences he had committed there before a European Arrest Warrant could be executed, said police. Ali was convicted of a sexual assault committed in France and given a one-year prison sentence, said police. Sussex Police had to wait until he had served this sentence before the European Arrest warrant could be executed. He was arrested in France and extradited back to the UK. He appeared at Lewes Crown Court on April 5 where he was sentenced to a total of seven years imprisonment for the offences, plus a further three years on an extended licence. Police said Photo: Sussex Police

A burglar has been jailed after being identified by an Eastbourne Police Community Support Officer who responded to information from the community. PCSO Julian Williams was following-up on concerns from Old Town residents around a man behaving suspiciously in the early hours of February 16, 2023. PCSO Williams was sent images of the suspect. Establishing that there had been two burglaries that night in Kirk Way and Colwood Crescent, PCSO Williams carried out further enquiries and was able to retrieve more footage and identify the man as 46-year-old Allan Beaton. Officers from the Neighbourhood Response Teams then attended Beaton’s address in Lennox Close, Eastbourne, and recovered multiple items of stolen property, which was then returned to the victims of both break-ins. Beaton was arrested on suspicion of two counts of burglary. During his arrest, police said that he also tried to kick, headbutt and bite officers and was further arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker. He pleaded guilty at Hove Crown Court on March 20 and was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for each burglary, to run concurrently, and three months for the assault to run consecutively.

4. Locked up in Sussex: These are some of the criminals jailed in April 2023

A burglar has been jailed after being identified by an Eastbourne Police Community Support Officer who responded to information from the community. PCSO Julian Williams was following-up on concerns from Old Town residents around a man behaving suspiciously in the early hours of February 16, 2023. PCSO Williams was sent images of the suspect. Establishing that there had been two burglaries that night in Kirk Way and Colwood Crescent, PCSO Williams carried out further enquiries and was able to retrieve more footage and identify the man as 46-year-old Allan Beaton. Officers from the Neighbourhood Response Teams then attended Beaton’s address in Lennox Close, Eastbourne, and recovered multiple items of stolen property, which was then returned to the victims of both break-ins. Beaton was arrested on suspicion of two counts of burglary. During his arrest, police said that he also tried to kick, headbutt and bite officers and was further arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker. He pleaded guilty at Hove Crown Court on March 20 and was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for each burglary, to run concurrently, and three months for the assault to run consecutively. Photo: Sussex Police