Four men convicted of operating county drugs line in East Sussex given prison sentences

Proactive police work from Brighton and Hove’s Community Investigation Team found two men – Reggie Gwyer, 22, of Harleston Road in Portsmouth, and Daniel Ghasemi, 37, of North Road in Brighton – dealing drugs to the street community Manchester Street on September 7, 2022.

Sussex Police said Ghasemi was arrested and found with a large amount of cash and a white Nokia phone. It received a call from a county line known as the BOSS line while officers were there, police added.

Sussex Police said Gwyer was arrested and found with Class A drugs and cash which he admitted was from the day’s drug dealing. He also had multiple mobile phones.

Their pair’s hotel room was searched and two more men – Shaun Harper, 30, of Braintree Road in Portsmouth, and Steven Tunbridge, 29, of Estella Road in Portsmouth – were found inside, Sussex Police confirmed.

Police said Harper tried to escape through a window and Tunbridge was hiding in the bathroom, but both were arrested.

Inside the hotel room were more than 500 wraps of Class A drugs, cash and multiple mobile phones – one of which was found in the toilet in an apparent attempt to destroy it, Sussex Police added.

Police said this phone was confirmed to be linked to the BOSS county line.

All four were arrested and subsequently charged with being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin, Sussex Police confirmed.

At Lewes Crown Court on Friday, September 15, Ghasemi was jailed for two years.

At the same court on June 23, Harper was jailed for five years, Tunbridge for three years and three months, and Gwyer for 18 months, suspended for two years.

Detective Constable Marcus Roberts said: “Yet again we have shown with these convictions that Sussex Police is committed to tackling drug-related crime and protecting the community.

“In this instance we were able to take decisive action on community intelligence, gather evidence and bring four people into custody.

“We were also able to take a significant amount of harmful substances off the streets and shut down a county drugs line spreading harm in our communities.

“This result shows how important it is that the public reports any concerns to the police. Please report to Sussex Police online or via 101. Always dial 999 in an emergency.”