A leader of a criminal organization, along with his brother, who was involved in the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison. Francis Coggins, 60, controlled the notorious ‘Huyton Firm’ alongside his younger sibling Vincent. While the gang orchestrated attacks on rivals, including the one resulting in the tragic death of Olivia, there is no direct implication of Coggins in the child’s shooting.
Thomas Cashman, the perpetrator of Olivia’s murder, was a hired assassin for the organization before being convicted for the crime. Olivia was fatally shot by Cashman in a failed attempt to eliminate a rival gang member in August 2022.
Francis and Vincent, known as ‘the Headmaster,’ gained a notorious reputation akin to Liverpool trafficker Curtis Warren. They relocated to Spain in the 1990s, establishing connections with criminal networks worldwide. Leveraging these international ties, they smuggled cocaine from Colombian cartels through Europe into the UK.
Vincent received a 28-year prison sentence in 2024 after admitting to conspiring to distribute Class A drugs and engaging in blackmail schemes. Today, Francis was sentenced to 18 years in prison for his involvement in importing and distributing class A drugs, specifically heroin and cocaine.
Their organized crime group distributed drugs throughout England, Wales, and Scotland, utilizing UPS parcels to transport at least a ton of class A drugs from Europe to the UK. Francis, stationed in Zandvoort, Netherlands, orchestrated the procurement and shipment of drugs from international suppliers to the UK.
The organization employed a sophisticated system to transport drugs to a depot in North Wales, where a complicit employee intercepted the shipments. Over a year, Francis imported drugs valued at over £16 million wholesale before his arrest by Dutch authorities for disorderly conduct led to his extradition.
Prosecutors revealed that the brothers operated as equals within the gang, each overseeing distinct responsibilities. Using encrypted platforms like EncroChat, the Coggins gang conducted lucrative deals with criminal organizations, accumulating substantial cash flow. Notably, they seized over £880,000 in just a two-week span.
Following raids and criminal activities linked to the gang, Vincent and eight other members were apprehended in 2020 under Operation SubZero by the North West Regional Organized Crime Unit. They are currently serving lengthy prison sentences for their illicit activities.
In court, it was highlighted that Francis played a subordinate role to Vincent in the criminal hierarchy, primarily handling physical drug operations. The presiding judge emphasized Francis’s significant role in directing drug transactions on a large scale, exerting influence over accomplices, and seeking financial gains from the criminal enterprise.