Walton drug dealer Anthony Watson is jailed for 12 years

Anthony Watson, 31, of High Street, Walton, was arrested in Clacton in December 2022 in connection with a long-running drug supply investigation in Essex.

At the time of the arrest, he was found in possession of Class A and Class B drugs, an iPhone, and a ‘burner’ phone.

Essex Police had identified Anthony as being a regular contact of a man named Liam Phelan.

Walton-on-the-Naze - High Street (Image: Google Maps)

Phelan was charged at the time with multiple drugs and firearms offences and was sentenced to 16 years behind bars in May 2023.

The force has also confirmed that Watson was also connected to a seizure of a large quantity of drugs recovered during Phelan's arrest in May 2022.

Phelan was described by a judge as a “professional criminal” who “revelled in the money he made”. 

He was also one of five men in a large-scale drugs supply network which had also been moving "viable firearms".

According to Essex Police, Watson acted as a go-between on behalf of this large criminal network and would collect wholesale amounts of Class A drugs and hold them until they were collected.

The force - an image of a police officer (Image: Essex Police)

He denied being a willing participant but was charged and remanded by police and later bailed from court with conditions. 

In March 2024, Watson was stopped by officers while driving a car with a "large quantity of cannabis" inside.

He was arrested and his house was searched – with a "number of weapons" including a cattle prod discovered and a "large volume of Class A drugs" discovered.

Police retrieved videos and messages from a phone seized at the address which showed the extent of the drug dealing operation Watson was “now orchestrating”.

He was charged with being concerned in the supply of cocaine, possession with intent to supply a Class A drug, being concerned in the supply of a Class B drug, and possession of a Class A and a Class B drug.

He initially admitted to the possession charges but either denied or entered no plea to the other three counts.

Police - another image of an officer (Image: Newsquest)

However, with the trial approaching he eventually admitted to all charges and was sentenced to 12 years in prison last Wednesday. 

Det Insp Frazer Low, of the serious and organised crime unit, said: “Watson clearly thought he could lie his way out of a lengthy sentence when we first arrested him.

“The case we had built up against him was overwhelming which he realised when he saw the volume of evidence he would face in court.

“We had already dismantled a large, organised crime group when dealing with Phelan and others, so when Watson tried to fill this void we were ready.

“We’ve taken a large quantity of drugs off the streets, and prevented much more ever reaching Essex in the first place.”