Brighton drugs gang jailed after using boys as slaves

Members of a drugs gang have been sentenced to more than 30 years in prison for using children to sell heroin and crack cocaine on the streets of Brighton.

Seven men and a woman admitted county lines drug dealing as well as a “modern slavery” charge of arranging or facilitating the travel of another person with a view to exploitation.

Five gang members were made the subject of slavery and trafficking prevention orders by Judge Stephen Mooney at Hove Crown Court today (Friday 1 September).

Six of the men were jailed for more than 34 years between them and a woman who harboured the boys was given a two-year suspended prison sentence. Another man will be sentenced later.

The case is believed to be the first in Sussex in which a gang of drug dealers have admitted breaking “modern slavery” laws, having exploited four school-age children – three of them from Essex.

The court was told that one of the children told police: “They’re forcing me to do it because my mum is a drug user.”

And another, a boy of 15, called police in the early hours one morning to say that he and another 15-year-old were stranded in Brighton – although the call handler said it was not a police matter.

Judge Mooney said: “I haven’t come across a case like this before where four children have been exploited for such a long period of time.

“This was a conspiracy designed to generate a substantial amount of money by selling drugs.

“They recruited vulnerable children to do the selling and to do the running – and that’s an evil thing to do.

“These children were exposed to the risk of serious physical and psychological harm … four children who were put to work selling drugs.”

The gang brought class A drugs from Essex to Brighton over three months during the coronavirus pandemic, including while people were told to stay home during the second national lockdown.

They sold at least 8,000 “wraps” of heroin and crack cocaine in Brighton and Hove in that time, with a street value of about £80,000.

This afternoon, the judge said: “Over recent years the cancer of county lines drug dealing has spread throughout the all parts of the United Kingdom.

“Communities suffer the consequences through increased crime (and) anti-social behaviour. The human cost is devastating. Relationships are shattered and lives are destroyed by the drugs sold by people such as the defendants I have to sentence.

“Those who play a part in the sale of drugs bear the responsibility for these consequences. They are indifferent to the misery that they inflict. They are driven simply by greed and self-interest.

“As the police have become more effective in disrupting these operations and the courts have imposed ever longer sentences those in charge of them have adapted their methodology.

“This case illustrates one of the more insidious examples. Children, many of them vulnerable are recruited to be the outward face of the operation.

“The reasons are clear, to reduce the risk that those pulling the strings will be caught by relying on the fact that, if caught, the children will say nothing and will be dealt with leniently because of their age.

“They are regarded as disposable cannon fodder by those in charge who care not for the risks of violence or worse that they run as they supply drugs to desperate addicts.

“If one is arrested, injured or killed, there are many more who will take their place.

“For three months between September and December of 2020 such a county lines operation was established based in East London.

“It was known as the Hector line and it was the run by Thomas Warwick. Over that period nearly a kilo of drugs was supplied to the streets of Brighton and Hove. To put it another way, over 8,000 separate sales of crack cocaine were sold to the users of Sussex.

“The operation was run from Essex and drugs would be brought down and sold by a network of runners recruited using the tried and tested method of sending bulk marketing messages when product was available.

“Four vulnerable young people, two aged 15 and two aged 17, were recruited to play this role and were taken to Brighton where they were housed and deployed to sell drugs.

“The fact that none of them has co-operated with the police is a clear example of the reasons why they were chosen. It is just what those in charge hoped that they would do if apprehended.

“One had been brought to Sussex from his home in Wiltshire and was reported as missing by his worried parents.

“Thomas Warwick ran the line and oversaw its operation from Essex, travelling occasionally to Brighton to confirm everything was going to plan

“Gary Goodwin, Jayden Henry-Flavin, Liam Harvey and Harley Roberts were also based in Essex but would frequently travel between Essex and Brighton with the Hector phone  and actively arrange the sale of drugs

“Dean Warrington and Crisdion Donovan transported runners to Brighton a total of 39 times.

“Nicola Mckenzie, herself a hopeless addict, played short lived role in harbouring the child runners and offering assistance to the conspiracy by using her local knowledge to help those selling drugs avoid detection.”

The seven gang members who were sentenced were

• Thomas Warwick, 32, of Prospect Close, Southend, in Essex, and formerly of Stephenson Drive, in nearby Basildon. He was jailed for five years and four months to be served consecutive to a sentence of five years and six months imposed in a similar case.
• Jayden Henry-Flavien, 31, of Bellhouse Road, Leigh, in Essex. He was jailed for four years consecutive to a sentence of four years imposed in a similar case.
• Gary Goodwin, 24, of Ulfa Court, Eastwood Road, Rayleigh, in Essex. He was jailed for seven years.
• Liam Harvey, 26, of Hermitage Drive, Basildon, in Essex. He was jailed for eight years and six months.
• Cris Donovan, 31, of Richards House, Bishops Hall Road, in Pilgrims Hatch, Brentwood, in Essex. He was jailed for five years.
• Nicola McKenzie, 49, a hairdresser, of Wish Court, Ingram Crescent West, Hove. He was jailed for two years, suspended for 18 months.
• Dean Warrington, 48, of Pamplins, Basildon, in Essex. He was jailed for four years.

Harley Roberts, 25, of Havalon Close, Basildon, remains to be sentenced.