Huyton firm boss Francis Coggins admits to being drug trafficker after years on the run

HUYTON firm joint boss Francis Coggins has admitted drug importation and supply offences after he was extradited from the Netherlands.

Coggins, 60, who has run the feared firm with jailed brother Vincent Coggins, , was arrested by the Dutch National Police outside a residential property in the coastal town of Zandvoort, Amsterdam, on June 3 2025, after spending years on the run.

After being extradited, he appeared today, September 24, at Liverpool Crown Court via video link from HMP Manchester.

He entered guilty pleas to six charges related to class A drugs.

Coggins admitted two counts of conspiracy to fraudulently evade the prohibition on the import of controlled class A drugs (heroin and cocaine) between May 2019 and October 2020.

He also admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs (heroin and cocaine) between March and June 2020, and two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs (heroin and cocaine) outside the jurisdiction of England and Wales on those same dates.

Sentencing will take place on November 17. He will then face Proceeds of Crime Act confiscation proceedings.

The Coggins brothers ran the firm from an address at The Spinney in Stockbridge Village.

Vincent was arrested as part of the EncroChat operation into encrypted phones. Read the full story here.