At first glance, it looks like any normal garden shed.
But this unassuming wooden shack, ironically labelled the ‘dog house’, is where 31-year-old drug dealer Frankie Lee Watkinson ran his ecstasy empire from.
Set in the garden of his grandmother’s house in Thurrock, Essex, he used her shed as a makeshift drug den without her knowledge, with police recovering bags of suspected MDMA and pill-making machinery.
Following a lengthy investigation by Essex Police, the criminal has now been sent to the actual ‘dog house’ after receiving a five-year sentence at Basildon Crown Court.
Images released by the police force show a pill press machine covered in fresh, loose powder which was recovered from the shed.
Also found in the grubby drug lab was a heart pill press used to brand ecstasy pills, as well as powder-covered gloves and loose pills.
The force’s Serious Organised Crime Unit had for long been building a case against Watkinson in relation to intelligence gathered over suspected Class A drug supply.
And in January this year, a warrant was executed at his grandmother’s address in Thurrock, where the makeshift drug lab was uncovered.
A drug dealer was found to have been operating his ecstasy empire out of his grandmother’s gardens shed
Frankie Lee Watkinson was jailed for five years at Basildon Crown Court following a lengthy investigation by Essex Police’s Serious Organised Crime Unit
A pill press machine covered in loose powder recovered from inside the shed
Watkinson was already in custody at the time of the search at his grandmother’s address, having been arrested at a petrol station in Orsett.
A search of his grandmother’s loft also revealed a small safe that had been hidden in the joist beam.
When officers removed the safe to the police station and opened it with a key seized from Watkinson at the time of his arrest, they uncovered 108g of cocaine in a Tesco food bag.
It was valued at up to £8,600.
When taken into custody, Watkinson gave his address as a caravan at a site in Clacton.
A suspected drug dealer customer list and 15 mobile phones were seized when officers carried out a search of the caravan.
Questioned by police, Watkinson denied producing the Class A drugs. He insisted he helped friends with removals and takes leftover items to boot sale.
He tried to claim the equipment found in his grandmother’s shed would be those unsold items, and he further denied being involved in the supply of cocaine.
A safe containing up to £8,600 worth of cocaine recovered from his grandmother’s loft. It was opened by officers with a key seized from Watkinson during his arrest
A heart pill press used to brand ecstasy pills. It was also recovered from the shed, along with powder-covered gloves
But faced with the clear evidence against him, he later admitted production of MDMA and being concerned in the supply of cocaine.
Appearing at Basildon Crown Court on November 6, he was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.
Detective Inspector Yoni Adler, of the Serious Organised Crime Unit, said: ‘The judge in this case found Watkinson’s exploitation of his grandmother’s property to supply and produce drugs was a clear aggravating factor.
‘This case shows the depths to which organised Class A drug dealers will sink to facilitate their harmful trade.
‘He showed little concern for the fallout of his offending on his wider family.
The contents of the safe uncovered by officers. The powder-covered inside of the safe contained a spoon and a bag of cocaine in a Tesco food bag
Suspected MDMA powder found in the garden shed when officers searched the Thurrock address
Watkinson first denied the allegations but later admitted production of MDMA and being concerned in the supply of cocaine
‘The reality of ecstasy isn’t glamourous.
‘It is drug dealers like Watkinson, operating out of grubby, makeshift manufacturing labs, who choose what to cut the MDMA with.
‘By their own reckless metrics, they decide the potency and authenticity of the pills they create.
‘You can never be sure of what you are taking. It is a very real danger.
‘The supply of ecstasy and cocaine also fuels wider offending in Essex and we know our role in stamping out the trade in these substances will help us drive down crime across our county.’
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