A court has confiscated a Rolex watch and thousands of pounds from a convicted international cocaine supplier who used to live in Brighton and Hove.
James Beeby, 53, was believed to have made £130,000 from providing cutting agent materials to supply cocaine worth as much as £20 million.
Beeby, of Hammy Lane, Shoreham, imported more than a ton of bulking agents with a resale value of more than a quarter of a million pounds.
He was jailed for six and a half years at Chichester Crown Court in January last year and has now had his assets confiscated by order of the court.
At a hearing at Hove Crown Court last Wednesday (27 September) Recorder David Brock imposed a confiscation order for the £130,000.
The court was told that more than £40,000 was available to be seized directly from Beeby, who is also known as Aaron Beebs, including cash and the Rolex watch that he was wearing when he was arrested.
Sussex Police said: “A convicted offender who supplied cutting agent materials to supply cocaine worth as much as £20 million has had his assets confiscated in court.
“James Beeby was previously convicted after a trial for being concerned in the supply of a class A drug, namely cocaine, and money laundering.
“In January 2022, the 53-year-old was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for the offences.
“But the inquiry into his illegal activity did not stop there, because a financial investigator from the Surrey and Sussex Economic Crime Unit was part of the investigation team and led an investigation into his finances.
“Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, assets were seized by police, which included a Rolex watch he was wearing at the time of his arrest.
“At Hove Crown Court on Tuesday 19 September, it was revealed he had benefited to the sum of more than £130,000 during the investigation period.
“The court imposed a confiscation order for the £130,000 and was told that more than £40,000 was available to be seized from the drug supplier directly. It included cash and the Rolex watch.
“Beeby, of Hammy Lane, Shoreham, was investigated originally after Border Force officers intercepted eight packages which had been sent from China to two addresses in Sussex connected to Beeby.
“The packages contained ‘cutting agents’ used to create cocaine which included benzocaine, boric acid and phenacetin.
“An investigation found that he had imported 1,370 kilograms of the cutting agent, at an estimate resale value of £275,000.
“This amount of cutting agent had the potential, when cut with cocaine, to produce drugs with a street value of up to £20 million.
“Beeby tried to portray himself as a legitimate businessman, selling chemicals for various uses.
“But his website offered assurances of discretion and the vast quantities of cutting agent made any legitimate use extremely unlikely.
“He had supplied the cutting agent to clients in the UK, the United States and Canada.
“Phone messages showed how he knew of the intended use of the cutting agent for use in the supply of cocaine.
“Beeby also admitted two counts of possession of a weapon during the course of the original investigation between August 2017 and December 2018.
“That was after police recovered a stun gun and pepper spray during the inquiry.”
After the latest hearing, Detective Inspector Charley Bryant, from the Economic Crime Unit, said: “Our colleagues worked hard to ensure the successful conviction of Beeby for being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.
“We are determined to disrupt the supply of drugs which cause so much harm in our communities. However, our investigation did not stop at the point of conviction.
“We demonstrated how we are determined to pursue every avenue available to us to not only catch criminals involved in drugs and money laundering offences but to also deny them the benefits of their criminality.”
Amazing init how in this world has he only gets 6 years 3 years on holiday basically, Jesus tax payers must be fuming right now
The joke though is on the great unwashed who believe that all this money confiscated from the proceeds of crime goes back into fighting much of the same??😳
Wrong!!!.. the Police aren’t what many have been led to believe they don’t uphold the law they are mere Police(e) enforcers clues in the name they are revenue creators & collectors for the Corporation
Policing by consent!?🤔
They are a for profit Corporation as are the Courts & judiciary even the criminal enterprise known formerly as Government are in on the act all Corporate entities ..if you would like to confirm check out a site called Dunn & Bradstreet there’s some eye openers on there 😉
So where does all this confiscated revenue go?
Pension coffers of the Police(e) enforcers along with subsidised mortgages extended sick pay & all the other perks that are obfuscated !!
Hard being part of the thin blue line
Let’s face it the war on drugs has totally failed and has cost trillions of pounds that should have been put to a much better use ,it’s time to remove the supply of all drugs from the criminals control, it would also stop the violence and deaths that go with the territory. The government should supply them and fully educate people about them, we claim to be the smartest species on earth ,but the way we have tackled the drugs issue is a farce .Two of my best friends died last year from drinking themselves to death and that’s totally acceptable class a drugs are available on every street corner and cause endless deaths, crime and misery somebody please prove that we are clever and can solve any problems that we come across thanks
It’s time for debate, discussion and solution
Who gets to wear the Rolex watch? Six years is a joke, he’ll be out in three years due to good behaviour!