Ransley took over the gang of smugglers after the Battle of Brookland, and employed a doctor, with an allowance paid to a man's family if he was ill, a policy that avoided the capture of injured men by the revenue forces and helped to ensure loyalty. The gang became stronger and landed goods along the coast from Rye to Deal . In July 1826 they were caught on the beach at Dover and a Midshipman, Richard Morgan, was killed. In October 1826 Ransley was arrested at Aldington by the Bow Street Runners on suspicion of murder, but as it took place in the dark, the death sentence was converted to deportation along with his brother-in-law Samuel Bailey as was fellow gang members Thomas Gillham and James Hogben.