Sussex man involved in international cocaine dealing faces jail
He sold cutting agents to customers around the world from his home in Shoreham
A West Sussex man faces jail after being found running a business which supplied materials to create cocaine.
James Beeby was found to be supplying cutting agents, including benzocaine, boric acid and phenacetin, to customers in the UK , the US and Canada from his home in Hammy Lane in Shoreham.
The 51-year-old was detained following an investigation by the West Sussex Community Investigation Team and Border Force officials.
Between August 2017 and December 2018, Border Force officers had intercepted eight packages which had been sent from China to two addresses in Sussex connected to Beeby.
On his arrest in May 2019 Beeby attempted to portray a legitimate business selling these chemicals for various uses, despite his websites offering assurances of discretion and the sheer quantities making any legitimate use extremely unlikely.
Some 320 kilos of the cutting agent were recovered during the police investigation from premises linked to Beeby, and financial evidence acquired by expert police investigators showed how over ÂŁ150,000 had passed through his bank account during this time.
This amount of cutting agent had the potential, when cut with cocaine, to produce drugs with a value of between ÂŁ20 million and ÂŁ40 million pounds at street level.
During the trial evidence was heard from a drugs expert witness about phone messages recovered from his phone, and evidence that he had purchased the cutting agents, showing his knowledge of their intended use in the supply of cocaine.
Detective Inspector Alan Pack of the West Sussex Community Investigation Team said
"This investigation and outcome demonstrates our commitment to disrupt all parts of drug supply which we know can blight our communities everywhere."
Beeby was convicted at Chichester Crown Court last Wednesday (November 17th) after an eight-day trial, of being concerned in the supply of cocaine, and money laundering,
Beeby is currently on court bail awaiting sentence in the first week of January 2022, with a hearing for potential seizure of assets to be assessed by the court under the Proceeds of Crime Act hearing to follow at a later date.