Huyton Firm
The Huyton Firm is an organised crime group based in the Huyton area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England.[1] Founded in the 1990s, the group has been involved in large-scale drug trafficking, blackmail, contract killing and violent crime.[2][3] The gang rose to prominence by filling a power vacuum left by other notorious Liverpool criminals, such as Curtis Warren and Colin "Smigger" Smith, after their arrests and deaths.[4] The Huyton Firm became one of the most powerful and secretive crime organizations in the UK, with significant international connections.[5]
History and Operations
[edit]The Huyton Firm was founded in the 1990s by two brothers, Vincent and Francis Coggins from the Huyton area.[1][6] The brothers set up a compound in Costa del Sol where they smuggled in drugs like cocaine and heroin through the Port of Liverpool to be smuggled across Glasgow, Swansea, Manchester and Plymouth as well as in Liverpool.[2][3][7][8]
Major criminal activities
[edit]The Huyton Firm's operations primarily centred on drug trafficking, but they were also involved in blackmail, extortion, and violent attacks. In late 2010s, the Huyton Firm started a terror campaign to escalate a court case by throwing explosives and using firearms.[1][9] In one instance, a grenade was left outside the house of Kenny Dalglish as a form of intimidation.[10][11]
Paul Woodford, an enforcer for Huyton Firm, was responsible inhumane acts which included scalping a women with a machete and torturing a man with hot iron. He was also allegedly responsible for the death of Jason Osu, but was found not guilty.[12][13]
Arrests and trials
[edit]In May of 2020, Jason and Craig Cox, together with Richard Caswell's crew raided their stash house in West Derby to steal a stash of cocaine worth £1,000,000 and injured a father and son.[3][14] The Huyton Firm, vowing for revenge, set off to find the perpatrators of the attack. They relayed messages and plans to find and kill the robbers on EncroChat. CCTV footage of the robbery was obtained by Thomas Cashman to help their search. French and Dutch authorities had hacked into the encription of the messaging app and followed their plans closely alongside the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit and the National Crime Agency.[15][16] They were subsequently arrested before their plans came to be.[16][12]
Vincent Coggins, the gang's leader, was sentenced to 28 years in prison in early 2024 after being convicted of drug trafficking and blackmail. His trusted associates, including Paul Woodford and Michael Earle, were also jailed for their roles in the firm’s activities. Woodford, a known enforcer for the gang, received a 24-and-a-half-year sentence, while Earle was sentenced to 11 years.[17]
Enforcer Paul Woodford was sentenced to 24 years and six months. Michael Earle and Paul Fitzsimmons were given 11 years and 12 years and six months respectively.[5]
Edward Jarvis, an important senior figure in the cartel, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for cocaine and heroin trafficking and conspiracy to blackmail.[18]
His brother Francis Coggins remained on the run until he was arrested in June 2025 in the Netherlands and was extradited back to the UK. He was subsequently sentenced to 18 years in prison.[19]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c Duffy, Tom (29 March 2020). "From Cantril Farm to the Costa Del Sol: the brothers behind the real Liverpool mafia". Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ^ a b Edrich, Patrick (9 May 2024). "Inside the downfall of one of the UK's most powerful gangsters". Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ^ a b c "The bloody raid by Salford brothers that led to downfall of one of North West's most powerful gangsters". 9 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ^ "Revealed: Police's secret war with the REAL Liverpool mafia you've never heard of". Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ^ a b "Huyton Firm: Brutal organised crime group brought down by its own text messages". BBC News. 9 May 2024.
- ^ "Albanian Mafia Clash with "Huyton Firm": EncroChat Messages Reveal How Liverpool Rejects Albanians in the Drug Market". Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ^ "The Crime Bosses who Terrorised..." Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ^ Humphries, Jonny (9 May 2024). "Gang's kill plot revealed as final member convicted". Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ^ "Huyton gun battle 'was like a movie' Liverpool Crown Court hears". 3 May 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ^ "Kenny Dalglish grenade terror gang member Gary Wilson loses jail appeal". 4 December 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ^ "Is this the grenade left at Liverpool FC legend Kenny Dalglish's home?". Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ^ a b "Brutal enforcer who scalped woman in savage attack helped source grenades and guns for gang boss". 10 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ^ "Huyton Firm enforcer and drug trafficker who scalped woman in savage attack can only pay back £1 of his criminal gains". 25 April 2025. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ^ "Inside the daring and brutal cocaine robbery that rocked the underworld". 29 August 2023.
- ^ "He was one of Liverpool's most powerful gangsters but raid on stash house changed everything". 9 May 2024.
- ^ a b "Huyton Firm nicknamed Timmy Donovan 'cop killer' in EncroChat messages during cocaine recovery plot". 4 February 2025.
- ^ "'Will Young lookalike' went from 'quiet lad' to underworld gangster kingpin". Daily Mirror. 12 May 2024.
- ^ "Huyton Firm gangster who helped in menacing blackmail plot jailed".
- ^ "Huyton Firm boss jailed for 18 years". 2025-11-28. Retrieved 2026-05-11.