Drug and arson gang jailed

A gang that terrorised residents in Rye collecting drug money has been jailed, with the ringleader Charlie Banks from Peacocke Way locked up for eight and a half years. Sussex Police say the local man led an organised crime gang responsible for violent incidents in Rye, Hastings and Bexhill, and was linked to the arson victims through his demands for money and his attempts to sell drugs. Three other men have also been jailed and a seventeen-year-old boy banned from visiting East Sussex for three years.

Their arrests followed a series of arson attacks and criminal damage during the summer of 2022, which began with the windows of a Hastings restaurant being smashed and smoke grenades set off in St Leonards in June. Cars and a van were set alight in Rye on three days in July, with a further car torched in Peasmarsh later that month.

From their investigations and speaking to the victims of the arson attacks, police found multiple links back to 24-year-old Banks leading police to believe the crimes were all related to the supply of drugs. PC Gaymer, of the Hastings Community Investigations Team, said: “These men caused significant harm to our district, both through the supply and distribution of harmful drugs, and through their subsequent violent offending. The impact on the victims was huge – not only financial to repair the physical damage caused, but emotional too. They were living in fear for themselves and their families and didn’t feel safe in their own homes or places of work. Charlie Banks was found to have a leading role in this criminal activity and targeted people who he believed were indebted to him, using violence and the threat of violence to create terror.”

During earlier investigations, police found cannabis, cash, and messages consistent with the supply of cocaine on 24-year-old Banks’ mobile phone at his home in Rye in the autumn of 2019. A year later, officers stopped a car in Rye in which Banks was a passenger. He was found to be in possession of cocaine and a mobile phone which contained messages about the supply of large amounts of the drug.

A number of other suspects were identified through police enquiries. Haydyn Russell, 18, was linked after his DNA was found on a hammer left behind at the Hastings restaurant, while forensic examination of the smoke grenades used to target the St Leonards shop identified a 17-year-old suspect. A search of his car found bottles of white spirit and lighter fluid, while analysis of his mobile phone also found videos of vehicles being set on fire and windows being smashed, including footage of the attack on the shop in St Leonards on June 27.

The 17-year-old boy was also found in possession of a photograph linked to the arson in Rye on July 8. He admitted being present, having been taken to the scene in a vehicle. Police enquiries identified the vehicle as belonging to 19-year-old Bradley Froud, and his car was also found to be present in the vicinity of the arsons in Rye on July 12 and July 13. Froud was stopped by police while driving in St Leonards and failed a roadside drugs wipe for cocaine and cannabis. He was arrested for those offences and for his suspected involvement in the arsons. Froud’s phone also showed messages between him and 19-year-old James McKenna relating to the supply of drugs.

In August 2022, a search warrant was conducted at McKenna’s address and a large quantity of Class A, B and C drugs were found and seized, including 19 grams of methamphetamine and 30.2 grams of cocaine. McKenna’s phone also contained messaging relating to the sale of cocaine, cannabis, LSD, MDMA and ketamine, and showed McKenna recruiting others to commit criminal damage for which he was offering a fee.

All four men and the 17-year-old boy were arrested, charged with multiple offences, and remanded in custody. They entered guilty pleas and were sentenced on Thursday, May 25 at Lewes Crown Court.

Banks was convicted of conspiracy to commit arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered, conspiracy to supply class A controlled drugs, being concerned in the supply of cocaine, conspiracy to supply class B controlled drugs, and being concerned in the supply of cannabis. He was sentenced to eight and a half years imprisonment.

McKenna, of Peartree Lane, Bexhill, was convicted of conspiracy to commit criminal damage, conspiracy to supply class A drugs, conspiracy to commit domestic burglary, possession of cannabis, and possession of criminal property. He was sentenced to five years and two months imprisonment.

Froud, of Frewyn Close, St Leonards, was convicted of conspiracy to commit arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered, conspiracy to commit criminal damage, conspiracy to supply class A drugs, conspiracy to supply class B drugs, conspiracy to supply class C drugs, and conspiracy to commit domestic burglary. He was sentenced to four years imprisonment.

Russell, of Brittany Road, St Leonards, was convicted of conspiracy to commit arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered, conspiracy to commit criminal damage, conspiracy to supply class A drugs, conspiracy to supply class B drugs, conspiracy to supply class C drugs, and possession of cannabis. He was sentenced to three years and six months imprisonment.

The 17-year-old boy from Buckinghamshire, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was convicted of conspiracy to commit arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered, conspiracy to commit criminal damage, and possession of cannabis. He was given a 36-month youth rehabilitation order to include 160 hours of unpaid work, a six-month curfew, and an order not to enter East Sussex for 36 months.

Image Credits: Sussex Police .