A member of a county line drug dealing gang has been jailed as part of a major investigation into organised crime in the city.

Seyed Mousavian, of Grand Parade, Brighton, was jailed for ten years at Lewes Crown Court after being found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.

The 42-year-old is the tenth person jailed following a two-year investigation into a major county drugs line known as HECTOR.

The Argus: Seyed Mousavian was jailed for 10 yearsSeyed Mousavian was jailed for 10 years (Image: Sussex Police)

HECTOR has been 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.

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.

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Typically the main number is controlled by a distant, senior gang member in the larger urban area, but the HECTOR line bucked that trend.

Instead, senior members operated within Sussex. This means investigating officers have had 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.

The Argus: Seized Class A drugs, in the gang's distinctive blue and red wraps Seized Class A drugs, in the gang's distinctive blue and red wraps (Image: Sussex Police)

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.

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.

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Alongside that work, a case was built to charge a large number of senior, mid and street-level members with being part of a conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin.

Being part of a conspiracy shows an organised, determined commitment to the illegal drug trade that goes beyond the charge of possession with the intent to supply.

The Argus: Huge amounts of drugs were seized by officersHuge amounts of drugs were seized by officers (Image: Sussex Police)

In passing sentence, Judge Mooney described Mousavian as a “very devious” man, who made the most of the opportunity presented to him in becoming involved with the HECTOR gang.

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“This significant custodial sentence is the latest step in what has been a long, complex investigation into an extremely dangerous crime gang operating in Brighton and Hove," said Detective Inspector Dee Wells, of Brighton and Hove’s CIT. 

“Their supply of illegal substances spread violence, exploitation and devastation in our communities.

“Mousavian’s sentence should serve as a reminder of our ongoing commitment to disrupting drug supply in our city and protecting our communities.”