Shoreham man James Beeby jailed over cocaine cutting agent supply

James Beeby was jailed for six-and-a-half years

A man has been jailed for running an operation supplying materials to create cocaine worth up to £20m.

James Beeby, 51, of Hammy Lane, Shoreham, West Sussex, was sentenced at Chichester Crown Court on Tuesday after being convicted in November.

He was jailed for six-and-a-half years for involvement in supplying cocaine and money laundering.

He had also admitted two counts of possession of a weapon after a stun gun and pepper spray were found.

Border Force officers intercepted packages between August 2017 and December 2018, which had been sent from China to two addresses in Sussex connected to Beeby, Sussex Police said.

Border Force found cutting agent sent from China

A police spokesman said: "Some 320 kilos of the cutting agent were recovered during the police investigation from premises linked to Beeby, and financial evidence acquired by expert police investigators showed how over £150,000 had passed through his bank account during this time.

"Investigators also found that more than 1,370 kilos of cutting agent had passed through his hands, with a total estimated resale value of £1.3million.

"This amount of cutting agent had the potential, when cut with cocaine, to produce drugs with a value of up to £20 million at street level."

Following his arrest, Beeby tried to portray himself as a legitimate business selling the chemicals for various uses.

This was "despite his websites offering assurances of discretion and the sheer quantities making any legitimate use extremely unlikely", the police spokesman said.

He had supplied cutting agent to clients in the UK, the US and Canada, police said.

Beeby is due to appear at a hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act, at the same court on 24 May for potential seizure of assets.

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