Gang's kill plot revealed as final member convicted

Jarvis was previously jailed in 2005 for a plot to flood Europe with about £48m worth of cocaine

The final member of an organised crime gang that plotted to unleash a wave of gun and grenade attacks over stolen drugs has been convicted, bringing to a close four years of court proceedings against the group.

Edward Jarvis, of Breckside Park in Anfield, was found guilty of cocaine and heroin trafficking and conspiracy to blackmail after a trial at Manchester Crown Court.

The 58-year-old's conviction follows those of Huyton Firm leader Vincent Coggins, his close friend Paul Woodford, trusted underling Michael Earle and several other gang members, who were all linked to a plan to kill the men they thought had taken cocaine worth more than £1m from them.

Matt Horne, the former deputy director of investigations at the National Crime Agency (NCA), told the BBC the Merseyside gang's "industrial-scale trafficking" and willingness to resort to violence put them "in the upper tiers of organised crime in the UK".

• Brutal organised crime group brought down by its own text messages

The court heard Jarvis helped Coggins find the address of a man they believed was involved in the theft, telling others in the group he would be "put to bed".

Coggins was previously jailed for 28 years, Woodford for 24-and-a-half years and Earle for 11 years after they admitted conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and conspiracy to blackmail.

The blackmail related to an "extraordinary" transaction which saw a local criminal hand over about £1.3m in cash and property to Coggins.

The sophisticated operation saw the group co-ordinating large cocaine deals in Glasgow, Swansea, Manchester and Plymouth as well as within Liverpool.

Jarvis's trial heard Coggins "expressed a desire to kill" those who had stolen his drugs

The group had conducted their business using the encrypted messaging service EncroChat, which was hacked by police in 2020.

Messages showed on 23 May 2020, a house the group used on Croxdale Road West, West Derby, was raided by four men, who were disguised as delivery drivers.

The quartet attacked the homeowner, who was employed by Coggins, and stole about 66lb (30kg) of cocaine.

The messages showed Coggins conducted his own "investigation" by demanding answers from underworld contacts.

'Go to war'

Alex Leach, KC, prosecuting, told the jury in Jarvis's trial that Coggins "expressed a desire to kill" those who had stolen his drugs.

Messages sent by Coggins showed how his suspicion fell on various local men, but in reality, the robbery was the work of a Salford-based crime group and a Liverpool criminal.

Earle offered to get hold of "brand new" firearms when he heard about the robbery, but then tried to calm Coggins, who demanded a grenade attack on the home of the man he believed was responsible.

In another message, Woodford told Coggins he would "kill him with you", adding that he would “go to war” for the gang leader.

Woodford told Coggins he would "kill" those responsible for the theft "with you"

In the days that followed, police on Merseyside handed out threat to life notices to the potential targets and warned Coggins and his associates they were being closely watched in an effort to prevent any reprisals.

However, despite receiving the money and property payment, Coggins told his brother Francis, who was involved in his business and remains at large overseas, he would "kill them in few months when it’s all calmed down".

On 13 June 2020, Encrochat became aware it had been hacked and a message was sent around its users warning them it had been compromised.

As a result, police moved quickly to detain the gang, who became the first of hundreds of criminals who have since been arrested using evidence from the messaging service.

Jarvis, who was previously jailed in 2005 for a plot to flood Europe with about £48m worth of cocaine, will be sentenced on a date to be set.

Speaking to BBC Panorama, Mr Horne said the gang's messages after the cocaine heist showed "an organised crime group using the same sort of tactics and techniques that might be used by law enforcement", but with the aim of retribution, serious violence and potentially murder.

However, the former senior officer, who led the NCA's national investigation into Encrochat, said cracking the service had changed the game in how police fights organised crime.

"What it's done is it's opened up that world and shone a light on it like never before," he added.