Four individuals who functioned as professional narcotics suppliers throughout the county have received prison sentences.
An operation carried out by the National Crime Agency uncovered the gang’s involvement in distributing class A and B controlled substances.
Mitch Mellor aged 44, Ioannis Melitsis aged 48, Steven Morley aged 46, and Hafiz Irfan aged 44 all entered guilty pleas to their involvement in widespread drug distribution.
At Lewes Crown Court on March 17, the four defendants received combined sentences exceeding 48 years imprisonment.
The court heard that Steven Morley, residing on Lewes Road in East Grinstead, was initially detained in 2021 regarding an unrelated case. Authorities confiscated over £180,000 in currency.
He was subsequently arrested in 2024 in connection with drug supply activities via the EncroChat platform, where he used the username incrediblehorse.
EncroChat was a service provider that has since been shut down, which permitted criminals to communicate securely with each other for a subscription fee.
Morley admitted to eleven offences encompassing involvement in supplying cocaine, cannabis and ketamine, involvement in producing ketamine, cannabis and amphetamines, knowing involvement in fraudulent evasion of a ban on importing cannabis, possession of a firearm without a valid certificate, and abstraction of electricity. He was sentenced to 14 years.
In June 2025, Hafiz Irfan, whose address was on Milton Mount Avenue in Crawley, was taken into custody. £100,000 in cash was discovered concealed at his home address, a business address, and a safety deposit box registered to him. He used the username snowtart.
Irfan admitted to six offences including involvement in supplying cocaine and cannabis, involvement in producing ketamine, involvement in offering to supply cannabis and ketamine, and money laundering. He received a nine-year sentence.
Mitch Mellor, who lived on Firle Road in Lancing, was apprehended in his vehicle in Brighton in June 2025, when 12.7 kilograms of cannabis and £10,000 in cash were discovered. He used the usernames speedyballoon and then easternotter.
Mellor received a 13 and a half year sentence for nine offences including involvement in offering to supply MDMA, involvement in producing ketamine, involvement in supplying cocaine, cannabis, ketamine and amphetamine, and money laundering.
Ioannis Melitsis, who lived on Hove Park Villas, was using the username metalica and was apprehended at Heathrow airport following his return from Miami in June 2025.
He admitted to 11 offences including involvement in supplying cocaine and cannabis, involvement in producing ketamine and amphetamine, and involvement in offering to supply 2CB, methamphetamine, ketamine, spice and diazepam. He received a 12-year sentence.
His Honour Judge Stephen Mooney stated the four men were clearly functioning as professional drug dealers using encrypted devices in an effort to avoid detection. The judge noted the men displayed no regard for the impact and harm that drugs cause.
Following the case, Chief Superintendent Imran Asghar commented that these men worked both together and independently to supply harmful class A and B drugs which have a detrimental impact on communities.
Vulnerable children and adults are frequently exploited in drug supply operations, which is why efforts are made to disrupt criminal groups.
The Serious Organised Crime Unit carried out a thorough investigation that clearly connected all four men to their respective roles in producing, offering to supply, and supplying drugs.
Due to the comprehensive investigation, all four defendants entered guilty pleas, and they will all serve significant prison sentences.