A CAMBORNE father has been jailed for money laundering after a police investigation uncovered his links to the sale of Ecstasy in the Spanish party resort of Magaluf.
Philip Clowes, 30, of Harriet Row, and Wesley Watton, 32, of Dawpool Court, Chester, were sentenced to a total of seven years in prison at Truro Crown Court on Friday after a judge ruled that thousands of pounds which passed through their bank accounts came from selling the Class A drug to clubbers.
Jason Beal, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said police who stopped a BMW on May 23, 2012, near Bodmin in which Watton was a passenger, found 7,350 euros in a black suitcase and seized a mobile phone and a room key for the Tyacks Hotel in Camborne.
The room had been booked by Clowes, who had paid for three sets of flights for Watton, who made three short trips back to the UK from Majorca, where he was working, in a short space of time.
In March, Clowes pleaded guilty to three counts of removing criminal property from England and Wales in relation to sums of 2,963.69 euros, £1,500 in a Western Union transfer to Spain and £700 by the same method.
He also admitted two counts of converting criminal property by depositing £27,511.50 cash into his own bank account and £4,330 into his partner Vicky Murphy's account.
After a trial last month Watton was convicted of removing 775.37 euros of criminal property from England and Wales, of converting £12,360 of criminal cash deposited into bank accounts and one of possessing 7,350 euros of criminal cash.
The trial heard an examination of Watton's mobile phone revealed text messages sent to and from him between May 12 and May 24, 2012, which referred to selling items in Majorca and money he made while working there.
Five charges of money laundering against Murphy, 33, also of Harriet Row, were dropped and she was found not guilty after Clowes entered his guilty pleas.
Jeremy Leaning, defending Clowes, said no drugs were found around him and he had no previous convictions for drug-related offences or money laundering. He had four sons aged between 9 and 13 and was a "dedicated family man".
Peter Moss, defending Watton, said the devoted father of four suffered from agoraphobia, anxiety and depression.
Adding that Watton was devoted to his children, he said: "I know during the period between conviction and today he has been spending as much time as he can with them."
Judge Christopher Harvey Clark, QC, said: "On the evidence that I heard during the trial of Mr Watton, I am entirely satisfied that the criminal conduct from which the money in question derived was the sale of Class A drugs in Majorca, in particular the sale of Ecstasy tablets to tourists and others frequenting the clubs in Magaluf."
He added that Clowes had been heavily involved in the scheme, instructing Watton to go to the resort and supplying him with cash to continue the business.
Clowes was sentenced to four years in prison while Watton received a sentence of three years.
