Caroline Sevier, 53, from Broad Oak, and her son Callum Gower, 29, from Rye, pleaded guilty to offences linked to the storage, preparation, and distribution of significant quantities of controlled drugs from multiple addresses.
The mother-and-son pair ran a chain of drug houses in Hastings and St Leonards.
Sevier was pulled over by police on March 21, 2017, and police found cocaine with an estimated street value of up to £2,580, 3.5kg of cannabis in the boot and documents linking Sevier to addresses in Hastings and St Leonards where substantial quantities of cocaine, MDMA and cannabis were seized.
The street value of the drugs seized during the operation was estimated at approximately £298,000.
The pair fled to South Africa while on bail after properties they controlled were raided.
Gower was reportedly renting a luxury, £6350-a-month, six-bedroom home in an exclusive estate.
South African police said he claimed he was a cryptocurrency dealer.
An appeal for Gower was included in a Valentine’s Day wanted list shared by Sussex Police in 2018 with an offer of a £500 reward if they could be “reunited with their lost Valentine”.
The police message read: “All we wanted was to spend some quality time with the people who’ve been trying to avoid us lately.
“Can you play Cupid and help us secure a date with some of the county’s most wanted people?
“There’s every chance it could be back to our place for coffee.
“We will be appealing for those who have broken our hearts to meet us for the date they owe us.”
A European Arrest Warrant was issued for the pair in 2023.
The pair, who were both wanted on drugs and firearms charges in South Africa, were arrested in Cape Town in 2024.
Gower was flown back to the UK in September 2025, and his mother was sent back the following month.
They were sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on Tuesday after admitting all the offences.
HHJ Christine Laing KC sentenced Sevier to six years in prison and Gower to seven years and eight months.
Gower complained of harsh treatment and poor conditions in Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town, asking for his sentence to be reduced.
Mum Caroline also said she had been traumatised by her experience in the South African prison.
Despite agreeing conditions in South Africa were clearly less than desirable, HHJ Laing told the pair: “I’m frankly fed up with having to sentence dealers of Class A drugs who do nothing but cause death and misery to tens of thousands of people.”
The judge added: “Neither of you told much truth about what was going on.
“I have to apply a healthy dose of common sense.
“I’m told you set the business up then involved your own mother in dealing Class A drugs.
“The quantities and values are quite astonishing for people in your circumstances.
“I have heard you are both remorseful.
“It didn’t ring particularly true to me.”
Mother and son both said: “Thank you, your honour,” as they were taken down.
Sussex Police Detective Superintendent Jay Mendis-Gunasekera said: “This was a substantial and organised drugs operation supplying significant quantities of Class A and Class B drugs into our communities.
“Seiver and Gower played leading roles in the storage and distribution of these drugs across multiple addresses.
“The scale of what was uncovered – including more than 30 kilograms of cannabis and large amounts of cocaine and MDMA – demonstrates the seriousness of the offending.
“Drug supply causes immeasurable harm, fuelling violence, exploitation and addiction.
“We will continue to relentlessly pursue those involved in this type of criminality, no matter how long it takes, and ensure they are brought before the courts”.
Source link
[Featured]
[Just In]
