Horam dog breeder arrested in £10 million cocaine case

Police stopped two vehicles which were “involved in an exchange” on April 10. Officers recovered 102 kilograms of cocaine from these vehicles which they said had a street value of £10 million.

Benjamin Holt, 42, director of Highlands Kennels, was one of three men charged with possession with intent to supply a class A controlled drug.

The vehicles were involved in an exchange in Birmingham, Staffordshire police said.

Police seized bagged up items from Highlands Kennels in Horam last Thursday (Image: Sussex News and Pictures)

Holt, of Eastbourne Road, Horam, near Hailsham, appeared at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on Friday, April 12.

One day before, Sussex Police raided Highlands Kennels in North Street, Horam.

The force said they were supporting West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit with a search warrant at the property. 

Holt also ran HighHolt which bred Labradors, pugs and French bulldogs.

He was charged alongside Mohamoud Mahamoud, 29, from West Drayton, Greater London, and Adam Vorster, 41, from Birmingham.

They will all appear before Birmingham Crown Court on May 10 for a plea and trial preparation hearing.

A spokesman for Staffordshire Police said: “We are continuing to disrupt those who plan, organise and commit serious criminal offences across the county, including drug supply, illegal firearms, knife crime, human trafficking and sexual exploitation.”

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "Sussex Police conducted a warrant in North Street, Horam, in support of a drug investigation by the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit on Thursday, April 11."

Benjamin Holt, 42, from East Sussex, was arrested and subsequently charged with possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.

Holt is one of three men charged in the investigation, which follows the seizure of 102kg of cocaine, worth around £10 million, in Birmingham.