Three men sentenced for burglary and drugs offences - Brighton

Three men who broke into a house and stole large amounts of illegal drugs have been sentenced to prison. 

The South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU) carried out an investigation after officers stopped a car containing Joseph Clinch, Reggie Burgess and Xavier Montag in Brighton on 9 June last year. 

Upon searching the car, officers located bags containing 2.5kg of cocaine as well as a large quantity of psilocybin – the chemical found within magic mushrooms. They also found a bag containing 6.5kg of cannabis resin. 

An investigation into the group’s activities was launched, and it was found that earlier that day they had made multiple attempts to break into a property in Vernon Terrace, Brighton. 

They had planned to break into the property and had visited hardware stores beforehand where they purchased a spade, pliers, a screwdriver and a large garden clearaway bag, which they eventually used to transport drugs. 

Having made at least two unsuccessful attempts to break into the property in Vernon Terrace, they eventually succeeded and stole drugs from inside, before leaving in the car that was later stopped by police. 

The group was charged with pleas entered as follows: 

• Joseph Clinch, aged 31 of Springhill Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, pleaded guilty to counts of dwelling burglary, and possession with intent to supply class A and B drugs. 

• Xavier Montag, aged 35 of Doleham Hill, Doleham, East Sussex pleaded guilty to counts of dwelling burglary, and possession with intent to supply B drugs. 

• Reggie Burgess, aged 19, of Old London Road, Hastings, East Sussex pleaded guilty to a count of dwelling burglary. 

On Monday (16/3) at Lewes Crown Court, Clinch was sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment, Montag was sentenced to two years and two months’ imprisonment, and Burgess was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment. 

Detective Constable Matt Dennis, of the SEROCU Investigation Syndicate, said: “These three men carried out a burglary, knowing that drugs were inside a property. Clinch and Montag clearly then intended to supply these drugs to others, which would have caused a great deal of damage to the community. 

“It is thanks to the quality of the investigation and the vigilance of our officers that they were stopped at a very early stage, and that they never got the chance to do this. 

“I hope this serves as a warning to others looking to carry out similar offences.”