Seven members of a Brighton drugs gang have been jailed after recruiting children to deal crack cocaine and heroin in the city.

Six men from Essex and one woman from Brighton were sentenced for their involvement in the HECTOR county drugs line, which had brought drugs from Essex into Brighton in 2020.

Alongside drug convictions, the eight defendants were also convicted of modern slavery offences against four children. One of the gang members is awaiting sentence.

In the space of three months, the group supplied around 8,000 wraps of Class A drugs across Brighton and Hove, with a street value of around £80,000.

The line was first dismantled after a two-year operation by the Brighton Community Investigation Team, which saw ten men jailed.

Officers became aware that the line had returned to operation under new leadership towards the end of 2020 and an investigation revealed it was controlled by five senior leaders in Essex - Thomas Warwick, Gary Goodwin, Jayden Henry-Flavien, Liam Harvey and Harley Roberts.

Three other gang members were identified as being involved in the transportation of people and drugs, as well as the support of criminal conspiracy - Dean Warrington, Cris Donovan and Nicola McKenzie.

McKenzie, 49, of Ingram Crescent West in Brighton, allowed the group to use her property as a base of operations.

The gang recruited four children to deal drugs in the city, who were transported to Brighton by Warrington and Donovan and allowed to stay with McKenzie in some cases.

The four children were treated as victims in the investigation by police, safeguarded and offered support from officers and community partners to help them steer away from further criminality.

All eight defendants were arrested in several operations between October 2020 and the summer of 2021. They were each subsequently charged with conspiracy to commit a modern slavery offence for their role in exploiting the children, as well as conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and conspiracy to supply heroin.

All eight pleaded guilty to all of the offences against them.

Seven of the defendants were sentenced at Hove Crown Court on Thursday:

  • Nicola McKenzie, 49, of Ingram Crescent West, Brighton - 24 months in prison, suspended for two years
  • Cris Donovan, 31, of Bishops Hall Road, Essex - five years in prison
  • Gary Goodwin, 23, of Eastwood Road, Essex - seven years in prison
  • Liam Harvey, 25, of Hermitage Drive, Essex - eight and a half years in prison
  • Jayden Henry-Flavien, 31, of Bellhouse Road, Southend-on-Sea - 11 years in prison, including a current sentence for drug offences in Essex
  • Dean Warrington, 47, of Pamplins, Esex - four and a half years in prison
  • Thomas Warwick, 32, of Prospect Close, Southend-on-Sea - 11 years in prison, including a current sentence for drug offences in Essex

An eighth member of the gang, Harley Roberts, 25, of Havalon Close, Essex, will be sentenced at a later date.

Detective Superintendent Kris Ottery said: “The effective use of modern slavery legislation shows our commitment to protecting vulnerable people affected by the illegal drug trade.

“County lines drag a wide range of innocent people into its orbit and have a devastating impact on communities that goes beyond the harmful substances themselves.

“In this instance, we have not just brought eight dangerous individuals to justice for their crimes - we have also safeguarded four vulnerable children and protected innumerable other people from their harmful trade.

“I would like to commend the investigative team, our partners in the Met Police and Essex Police, and the variety of community agencies for this complex, thorough investigation that has helped make the streets of Sussex safer for everyone.”