These are some of the most serious, high profile and prolific offenders who were jailed in the third month of 2026.
All information comes directly from Sussex Police.
9. Locked up in Sussex: These are some of the criminals jailed in March 2026
Shane Brett, 30, has been jailed for 26 months after he stole an Asda van in Eastbourne. Police attended Sovereign Harbour Retail Park in Pevensey Bay Road, Eastbourne at around 6.20am on January 30 following a report of a stolen Asda van. Officers swiftly engaged in a tactical pursuit and successfully stopped the vehicle in The Fairway, Newhaven. A drugs wipe was conducted at the scene and the 30-year-old tested positive for cocaine. Brett was arrested, and the next day (January 31) charged with theft of a motor vehicle, burglary other than a dwelling, driving a motor vehicle dangerously, and driving a motor vehicle on a road or in a public place without third party insurance. He appeared later the same day at Brighton Magistrates’ Court where he pleaded guilty to all charges and was remanded into custody. On March 12 at Lewes Crown Court, Shane Brett, 30, of no fixed address, was jailed for 26 months and disqualified from driving for four years. Photo: Sussex Police
10. Locked up in Sussex: These are some of the criminals jailed in March 2026
Four men who operated as “professional drug dealers” have been sentenced to a total of more than 48 years in prison. Mitch Mellor, 44, Ioannis Melitsis, 48, Steven Morley (pictured), 46, and Hafiz Irfan, 44, admitted their roles in large scale supply. They showed no concern for the impact supplying class A and B drugs had on communities in Sussex, a judge said. Their roles were initially exposed following a National Crime Agency operation targeting encrypted messages using a service called EncroChat. EncroChat was a service provider – since dismantled – which enabled criminals to communicate securely with one another, for a subscription price. The court was told how Steven Morley, of Lewes Road, East Grinstead, was originally arrested in connection with a separate matter in 2021. Cash worth more than £180,000 was seized. He was further arrested in 2024 in connection with being concerned in the supply of drugs through EncroChat, where he operated a username “incrediblehorse”. Morley admitted 11 charges including being concerned in the supply of cocaine, cannabis and ketamine, being concerned in the production of ketamine, cannabis and amphetamines, being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition of importation of cannabis, possession of a firearm without a valid certificate, and abstraction of electricity. He was jailed for 14 years. Photo: Sussex Police
11. Locked up in Sussex: These are some of the criminals jailed in March 2026
Then in June 2025, Hafiz Irfan, of Milton Mount Avenue, Crawley, was arrested. £100,000 in cash was found stashed in his home address, a business address, and a safety deposit box in his name. He operated a username called “snowtart”. Irfan admitted six charges including being concerned in the supply of cocaine and cannabis, being concerned in the production of ketamine, and being concerned in the offer to supply cannabis and ketamine, as well as money laundering. He was jailed for nine years. Photo: Sussex Police
12. Locked up in Sussex: These are some of the criminals jailed in March 2026
Mitch Mellor, of Firle Road, Lancing, was arrested in his vehicle in Brighton in June 2025, where 12.7 kilograms of cannabis were found and £10,000 in cash. He operated a username called “speedyballoon” and then “easternotter”. Mellor was jailed for 13 and a half years for nine charges which included being concerned in the offer to supply MDMA, being concerned in the production of ketamine, being concerned in the supply of cocaine, cannabis, ketamine and amphetamine, and money laundering. Photo: Sussex Police