Three men have been jailed for a drugs heist in the Seven Dials area of Brighton and Hove when stole several kilograms of cocaine and cannabis resin.
The men, from the Hastings and Bexhill area, were stopped by police in Brighton last June – and this week they were sentenced at Lewes Crown Court, with one of them jailed for 11 years.
Police said: “Three men who broke into a house and stole large amounts of illegal drugs have been sentenced to prison.
“The South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU) carried out an investigation after officers stopped a car containing Joseph Clinch, Reggie Burgess and Xavier Montag in Brighton on Monday 9 June last year.
“Upon searching the car, officers located bags containing 2.5kg of cocaine as well as a large quantity of psilocybin – the chemical found within magic mushrooms. They also found a bag containing 6.5kg of cannabis resin.
“An investigation into the group’s activities was launched, and it was found that earlier that day they had made multiple attempts to break into a property in Vernon Terrace, Brighton.
“They had planned to break into the property and had visited hardware stores beforehand where they purchased a spade, pliers, a screwdriver and a large garden clearaway bag which they eventually used to transport drugs.
“Having made at least two unsuccessful attempts to break into the property in Vernon Terrace, they eventually succeeded and stole drugs from inside before leaving in the car that was later stopped by police.”
Joseph Clinch, 31 of Springhill Road, Bexhill, pleaded guilty to burglary and having class A and B drugs with intent to supply.
Xavier Montag, 35 of Doleham Hill, Doleham, near Hastings, pleaded guilty to burglary and having class B drugs with intent to supply.
Reggie Burgess, 19, of Old London Road, Hastings, pleaded guilty to burglary.
At Lewes on Monday (16 March), Judge Martin Huseyin jailed Clinch for 11 years. Montag was jailed for two years and two months and Burgess for a year.
Detective Constable Matt Dennis, of the SEROCU Investigation Syndicate, said: “These three men carried out a burglary, knowing that drugs were inside a property.
“Clinch and Montag clearly then intended to supply these drugs to others which would have caused a great deal of damage to the community.
“It is thanks to the quality of the investigation and the vigilance of our officers that they were stopped at a very early stage and that they never got the chance to do this.
“I hope this serves as a warning to others looking to carry out similar offences.”
What happened to whoever owned/occupied the flat?