A heroin dealer was jailed after police caught just three weeks after he started dealing drugs in Brighton.
Ermir Murataj, 35, from Goldbeaters Grove, in Mill Hill, north London, came to Brighton to sell heroin in June and July last year.
He operated a “county line” known as Jimmy – using dealer phones to mass market and sell drugs in the Brighton area.
Murataj was jailed for three and a half years by Judge Amanda Kelly at Brighton Crown Court on Friday 17 May. He had denied the charge but was convicted by a jury.
Sussex Police said: “A county lines drug dealer was arrested just three weeks after he started distributing illegal substances in Brighton.
“Ermir Murataj frequently travelled from his home in Goldbeaters Grove, London, to the Sussex coast throughout June and July 2023, where he would offer heroin for sale.
“He was arrested after a Misuse of Drugs Act warrant was executed at his address on Friday 13 October.
“A number of mobile devices were seized and expert analysis revealed the Jimmy drug line phones he operated were completely inactive while he was in London.
“They became heavily active whenever he travelled to Brighton when he would send out bulk messages to vulnerable users.
“The 35-year-old was charged with being concerned in the supply of heroin.
“He denied the offence and the case went to trial where a jury returned a guilty verdict.
“At Lewes Crown Court on Friday 17 May, Murataj was sentenced to three and a half years’ imprisonment.”
The investigation that brought him to justice was codenamed Operation Centurion.
You have to be pretty rubbish at dealing to get nicked after 3 weeks, most of them get away with it for years.
Lets be honest, most of the dealing these days is so open the dealers may as well set up shop. Does any one know why Sussex Police are failing so badly when it comes to this issue?
Poor guy – the convicted a innocent man