Brighton county lines drug dealer jailed for ten years
He's the tenth person convicted for his role in the 'HECTOR' network
A member of a county lines group which supplies heroin and crack cocaine across Sussex has been jailed for ten years.
Seyed Mousavian is the tenth person linked to the HECTOR line to be convicted, following a two year operation conducted by Sussex Police.
Those people, which include senior gang leaders, have been put behind bars for more than 64 years in total.
Mousavian, who is 42 and of Grand Parade in Brighton, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on March 23rd.
In passing sentence, HHJ 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.
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.
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, giving investigators 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.
Detective Inspector Dee Wells, of Brighton and Hove’s Community Investigations Team, said:
"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.
"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."