He’s in the doghouse! How a drug dealer ran an ecstasy empire from his grandmother’s shed with pill-making equipment stashed in the garden of her Essex home – and she had no idea

At first glance it looks like a normal garden house.

But this modest wooden hut, ironically called the ‘doghouse’, is where 31-year-old drug dealer Frankie Lee Watkinson ran his ecstasy empire.

Located 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 machines.

Following a lengthy investigation by Essex Police, the criminal has now been sent to the actual ‘doghouse’ after being handed a five-year prison sentence at Basildon Crown Court.

Images released by police show a pill press machine covered in fresh, loose powder recovered from the shed.

A heart pill press used to brand ecstasy pills was also found in the dingy drug lab, as well as powder-coated gloves and loose pills.

The force’s Serious Organized Crime Unit had been building a case against Watkinson for some time in relation to intelligence gathered about a suspected Class A drug stash.

And in January this year, an arrest warrant was issued at his grandmother’s address in Thurrock, where the makeshift drugs lab was discovered.

A drug dealer turned out to be running his ecstasy empire from his grandmother’s garden shed

Frankie Lee Watkinson was sentenced to five years in prison at Basildon Crown Court following a lengthy investigation by Essex Police’s Serious Organized Crime Unit

A pill press machine covered in loose powder was recovered from the shed

Watkinson was already in custody at his grandmother’s address at the time of the search, having been arrested at a petrol station in Orsett.

A search of his grandmother’s attic also revealed a small safe hidden in the joist.

When officers took the safe to the police station and opened it with a key seized by Watkinson during his arrest, they discovered 108 grams 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 location in Clacton.

A suspected drug dealer’s client list and 15 mobile phones were seized when officers searched the caravan.

Questioned by police, Watkinson denied manufacturing class A drugs. He insisted on helping friends move and taking leftover items to sell.

He attempted to claim that the equipment found in his grandmother’s shed was that unsold items, and further denied that he was involved in the supply of cocaine.

A safe containing up to £8,600 worth of cocaine recovered from his grandmother’s attic. It was opened by officers using 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-coated gloves

But when confronted with the clear evidence against him, he later admitted that he was producing MDMA and was concerned about the supply of cocaine.

When he appeared at Basildon Crown Court on November 6, he was sentenced to five years in prison.

Detective Inspector Yoni Adler, of the Serious Organized Crime Unit, said: ‘The judge in this case found that 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 organized Class A drug dealers will stoop to facilitate their harmful trade.

‘He showed little concern about the consequences of his offending for his wider family.

The contents of the safe were discovered 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 initially denied the allegations but later admitted he was producing MDMA and was concerned about the supply of cocaine

‘The reality of ecstasy is not glamorous.

‘It is drug dealers like Watkinson, who operate from dingy, makeshift production laboratories, who choose how to cut the MDMA.

‘Based on their own reckless standards, they determine the potency and authenticity of the pills they make.

‘You never know for sure what you’re taking. It is a very real danger.

‘The supply of ecstasy and cocaine is also increasing crime in Essex and we know that our role in eradicating the trade in these substances will help us reduce crime across our country.’