A heroin importer gave himself a nickname inspired by his likeness to a former England footballer.
Anthony Bowden was jailed for 21 years on Friday in connection with a major class A drugs ring led by "Jabba the Hutt". The Merseyside-based organised crime group smuggled illicit substances into the UK from the Netherlands and also supplied millions of pounds of heroin and cocaine across the region.
The 40-year-old, of Lancer Way in West Derby, was one of the most trusted allies of the "head of the operation" - who used the handle JabbaTheHutt while operating on encrypted communications platform EncroChat. More than £30,000 of designer goods were seized from the personal trainer after his arrest, while he attempted to destroy a mobile phone by submerging it in a glass of water.
