EncroChat messages reveal Huyton firm had ‘corrupt police help’ nicknamed ‘piggy’

A Huyton gang boss who ran an international drug cartel had a corrupt police insider check the internal database for updates.

Vincent Coggins has finally been revealed as the violent gang leader of the notorious Huyton firm – a Merseyside organized crime group that flooded the UK with drugs for 30 years – after extensive reporting restrictions were lifted yesterday four years. Coggins and his brother Francis, who grew up on Knowsley’s Cantril Farm in the 1970s and 80s, built their powerful drugs empire from nothing into a bona fide cartel that rivaled crime factions in Ireland, Eastern Europe and South America.

Vincent Coggins went under the police radar for decades before a bloody raid on one of their sharp houses set off a chain of events that led to their arrest and conviction. On 23 May 2020, a violent robbery took place at the gang’s warehouse, in which a man was slashed with a machete and £1m of cocaine stolen.

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Vincent Coggins deployed his foot soldiers, including right-hand man Edward Jarvis, to recover his illicit goods, delivering his orders via EncroChat. But neither he nor his associates knew that police were monitoring his every move after the encrypted messaging service was hacked by European authorities in April 2020.

His messages, which proved the extent of his drug-trafficking empire, as well as his chilling plot to recover his stolen drugs and kill those responsible, led to his downfall. But evidence read at his sentencing, as far back as 2022, but which can only be reported now that the restrictions have been lifted, may offer some indication of how he managed to avoid police attention for so long.

Vincent Coggins had an associate named Paul Woodford – a violent enforcement agent previously linked to a number of violent incidents in both Europe and the UK. The EncroChat messages revealed that Woodford had a contact known as “the computer man” – a corrupt police officer on the inside. In other messages, the gang referred to the policeman as a “piggy”.

When Vincent Coggins felt the police heat on him turn up, he asked Woodford to obtain copies of what was being said about him in the Police National Computer database. The contact told them that there were new updates to Vincent Coggins’ profile, but that they were unable to take a screenshot without attracting attention.

This contact was arranged through fellow EncroChat member Michael Burns, who used the handle “Milliondolla” to communicate with the Coggins gang. It is not known how long Coggins and Woodford had been in contact, but a Panorama investigation reported that the contact may have given them vital information that kept them away from police surveillance.

When approached by the ECHO about the messages, Merseyside Police said its anti-corruption unit had begun investigating potential police contact in 2020 after many gangs were arrested. A force spokesman told the ECHO: “The Anti-Corruption Unit referred the Independent Police Complaints Office (IOPC) investigation into potential corruption by a police employee and the inquiry has become an IOPC Directed Investigation.

“The anti-corruption team has thoroughly analyzed the discussions between Milliondolla (Michael Burn); Softherb (Edward Jarvis) Kingwasp (Paul Woodford) and Moonlitboat (Vincent Coggins) to further their investigation and identify any corruption. An extensive search of the force’s systems in relation to those individuals was carried out to identify whether there had been any unauthorized access to information in relation to them and to identify any potential suspects.

“A number of people were identified as having access for a legitimate policing purpose, including personnel from other forces, and no corruption was identified.”

The gang also appeared to have contacts in the Port of Liverpool who helped them import their illicit goods into the UK. Analysis of the messages showed that the group refers to port workers who were watching the containers to see if they had attracted the attention of port agency authorities.

It is likely that these supply routes that opened up Coggin’s gang to receive shipments from any part of the world were a driving force that allowed the gang to build its international power and reputation. Investigating police officers told the ECHO that no dock workers had been identified or investigated as part of their operation.

Operation Coggins was eventually called off when police officers intervened and arrested a number of the gang before they could carry out plans to seriously injure or kill the people they believed responsible for their robbery in House. Vincent Coggins’ target was Brian Maxwell, a professional drug dealer who later used the EncroChat phone network to procure weapons, including AR-15 semi-automatic rifles and an AK47 to protect himself from the attack.

Even when presented with potential evidence that Maxwell Jr could not have been involved in the robbery as he had CCTV at home all day and advised them to leave it until the next day, Vincent Coggins refused. He relayed to Earle “No m8 tonight, it must be finished now, let’s not mess around.” Only the failure to deliver the grenade to the attacker halted the proceedings for another day.

Vincent Coggins reported to Earle his intention to approach Brian Maxwell’s father, Brian Maxwell Sr, with an ultimatum. Return the drugs or the money or they would pay. After monitoring the messages, the police took the first steps to disrupt Vincent Coggins’ plans. On May 27, they visited the home of Brian Maxwell Jr and delivered a threat to his life, also known as the Osman warning.

Armed police also visited an address linked to Vincent Coggins to issue a cease and desist notice – a warning not to engage in any criminal activity. Undeterred, he continued to set plans in motion to kill Brian Maxwell Jr as well as two other men he believed to be involved – Michael Eves and Iyobosa ‘Bosa’ Igbinovia. On May 28, Jarvis texted Vincent Coggins about alleged evidence the pair believed further incriminated the three men in the robbery.

An EncroChat message at around 2.30pm that day said: “… told me they were all together Maxwell boser eve saturday afternoon to sunday for an anniversary drink… so maxwell said that got the cctv of himself not leaving the house on saturday is a problem. *ing lie”. Later that day, Coggins texted Fitzsimmons saying “everyone got it.”

The Maxwell family communicated with Vincent Coggins, Earle and Jarvis through a third party, a man who is yet to appear in court so cannot be identified. Fearing that an attack on his son was imminent, Maxwell Sr. sent a proposal to the gang.

He knew his son didn’t commit the robbery, but understanding the threat he said, “my solution involves me and myself paying the bill and then I’m the one robbed, I’d rather have him than the money… and they won’t be in possession because I didn’t get it any more than he has…then it’s up to me to find out who did it…any money I got means screw them all if he died”.

Maxwell Sr offered about £1,360,000 to Vincent Coggins, split between cash and the sale of land and a house. Vincent Coggins accepted the offer. But a chilling text to Earle later that day showed it was only a temporary peace. “Hell I’m still going to kill them all, but it might take time now to leave daddy alone,” he wrote.

Vincent Coggins, Woodford, Earle and Jarvis were all arrested by the police on June 16, 2020. Cornered and with the weight of EncroChat’s evidence against him, Vincent Coggins pleaded guilty. to conspiracy to supply class A drugs and conspiracy to commit blackmail and was jailed for 28 years.

Paul Woodford, of Marl Road in Kirkby, and Michael Earle, 48, of Wallace Drive in Huyton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs and conspiracy to commit blackmail. They were 24 and a half and 11 years old respectively.

Dean Borrows, 39, of Ledson Grove in Aughton, Darren Tierney, 46, of Chatham Street in Stockport, and Paul Fitzsimmons, 60, of Birch Tree Court in West Derby, admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin. They were handed terms of 14 years and three months, 12 years and nine months and 12 and a half years.

Kevin Rimmer, of Blacklow Brow in Huyton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin. The 57-year-old man was imprisoned for 16 years. Paul Glynn, of Croxdale Road West in West Derby, admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine. The 59-year-old man received 11 years and two months.

Edward Jarvis, of Breckside Park in Anfield, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and conspiracy to commit blackmail. The 59-year-old will be sentenced at a later date. Francis Coggins has not yet been caught and is believed to be hiding in Europe.

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