NINE drug dealers have been jailed for a total of 45 years after a police operation smashed a major crime ring in the heart of Brighton.

The sting last summer, which included simultaneous raids on properties around the city and a helicopter pursuit of one of the gang’s vehicles, was praised by the judge passing sentence as an example of “policing at its best.”

On June 7 last year, Sussex Police made their move on the sophisticated cocaine-supply and money-laundering operation, using a helicopter to tail a suspect transit van as it drove towards Brighton on the A23.

It was stopped by police in squad cars raided by police while other officers found drugs and cash at addresses including Pool Valley, Preston Grange, Donald Hall Road, Regency Mews and London Road, Brighton, and Hove Park Villas in Hove.

The confiscated alcoholThe confiscated alcohol

Cash, cocaine and vehicles worth several hundred thousand pounds were seized from the gang.

Mevlan Dema, the leader of the group, was stopped in his BMW car in West Street, Brighton, and arrested. Cocaine was found in his vehicle.

Two days later police seized more than 100 bottles of illicit alcohol from seven licenced premises in the city gang linked to the gang, working alongside officials from Immigration, HMRC, licensing, trading standards and environmental health.

Nine of the twelve men arrested were charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine and appeared at Hove Crown Court on July 12 where seven of them pleaded guilty. These were Ramazam Capa, 21, Gjenti Capa, 27, Kadri Dema, 24, and Izmir Dema, 25, who are all unemployed, of no fixed address. Ndricim Xhepha, 28, unemployed, of London Road, Brighton, Gledis Osmani, 21, unemployed, of London Road, Brighton, and Mevlan Dema, 32, a catering manager, of Hove Park Villas, Hove, also pleaded guilty. Dema also pleaded guilty to two charges of money laundering.

On 29 July Leonard Dema, 35, unemployed, of Pennymead, Harlow, Essex and Klinton Dani, 23, a kitchen worker, of Pool Valley, Brighton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine.

They were all sentenced on March 22 and March 28 at Hove Crown Court. Mevlan Dema was jailed for 13 years, Gledis Osmani to eight years and Kadri Dema, Izmir Dema, Reo Capa, Gjenti Capa, Ndricim Xhepa and Klinton Dani for three-and-a-half years. Leonard Dema was jailed for three years.

After sentencing Judge David Rennie praised Sussex Police stating that the operation showed policing at its best and the investigation was to be commended.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve Boniface said: "We not only targeted them for the crimes they were committing, we also worked closely with our partners to look at their associates and businesses. We will now be applying to the court to seize their assets and any profits they have made from their criminality.

"We run operations like this continually because we are determined that Brighton and Hove remains an environment that is difficult for organised criminals to operate in.”