Huyton Firm enforcer and drug trafficker who scalped woman in savage attack can only pay back £1 of his criminal gains Paul Woodford, Vincent Coggins and Michael Earle appeared before a proceeds of crime hearing at Manchester Crown Court Paul Woodford is serving a 24-and-a-half-years sentence (Image: NWROCU ) An associate of Huyton Firm boss Vincent Coggins was found to have benefited to the sum of nearly £500,000 from his life of crime - but will only have to pay back £1. Paul "Woody" Woodford was one of Coggins' most trusted associates and was sentenced to 24-and-a-half years for his role in sourcing a firearm in a terrifying blackmail plot to recover a stolen cocaine haul. Woodford is a notorious figure in Merseyside's criminal gangland with convictions dating back 30 years for a series of heinous incidents including scalping a terrified woman with a machete and torturing a man with a hot iron, machetes and knives. He later fell in with Coggins' operation and was deployed to Europe where he was part of a heavily-armed gang arrested in Amsterdam. ‌ Woodford was also charged with the murder of 31-year-old pilot Jason Osu, but slashed his throat midway through the trial and refused to answer questions when giving evidence. He was cleared of the murder after a seven week trial and five days of deliberations. Article continues below Woodford, most recently of Marl Road in Aintree, later adopted the EncroChat handle "Kingwasp" which he used to source and distribute heroin and cocaine shipments for Coggins. A proceeds of crime hearing was held yesterday, Thursday, April 24 before Manchester Crown Court for Woodford, Coggins and co-conspirator Michael Earle. During the brief hearing, prosecutor Alex Leach KC said representatives of both the crown and Woodford agreed the hardened gangland figure had benefited to the tune of £499,960.50 from his life of crime. However, the court heard Woodford, represented by Sebastian Winnett, only had £1 available to pay back. Judge John Potter said: "The available figure is a nominal sum given his circumstances. I come to the view a confiscation order of £1 should be made . There is no time to pay." ‌ Sarah Vine KC, for Coggins, told the court that her client had applied for his own proceeds of crime confiscation to be postponed for an expert report to confirm the crown's evaluation of the amount of drugs he trafficked to be correct. Judge Potter told the court Coggins and Earle, who was represented by Tara Riley, will appear for a fully contested proceeds of crime hearing on September 12. The Huyton Firm and the drug raid that toppled their control Coggins' organised crime group was involved in the supply of huge amounts of cocaine and heroin across the UK. Coggins, known as "the gaffa" and "headmaster", and his brother Francis built their powerful drug gang from nothing into a bona fide cartel that rivalled criminal factions from Ireland, Eastern Europe and South America. The gang, which originated in Stockbridge Village, imported much of its illicit cargo through the Port of Liverpool before it was distributed around the UK from Plymouth to Scotland. It's also believed the gang had port workers watching containers and a corrupt copper nicknamed "Piggy" on its books to help go under the radar. ‌ Where possible the pair avoided disputes and fall outs where possible, but they also delivered a fearsome reputation and commanded a feared gang of crooks including Olivia Pratt-Korbel's killer Thomas Cashman. They were also not afraid of ordering devastating violence to anyone who compromised their interests. At some point the gang began using encrypted EncroChat phones to conduct their business. But this would ultimately prove to be their downfall when the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU) gained access to their messages after the platform was hacked by European law enforcement in the early months of 2020. On the morning of Saturday, May 23 2020, a violent armed robbery was carried out at a house on Croxdale Road West, West Derby. The targeted attack, conducted by rival gangsters who knew whose drugs were stashed there, saw the homeowner and his son severely assaulted and £1m of cocaine stolen. ‌ Huyton Firm gang boss Vincent Coggins (Image: PA ) Coggins, along with his collaborators including Woodford, Earle and Edward Jarvis, set about plans to find those responsible and get the drugs back. But their messages were monitored by detectives, who took action when conversations showed plans to not just recover the drugs, but kill those who they thought carried out the raid. In one message exchange between "Kingwasp" and Coggins, who used the handle "Moonlitboat", they discuss the robbery and Coggins said "Heads gone. I've got the c**t bang to rights. Give *** chance today to give back, f**k the doe m going to kill him an his firm." ‌ The conversation continued and Woodford asked Coggins if he wanted him to buy a gun, referring to it as a "belter". Coggins responded with "M8 just bought load more, we cool for tools." The men, along with a number of other members of the gang, were arrested in June 2020. The ECHO was unable to report the outcome of the investigation until the middle of 2024 when Jarvis was convicted of blackmail and drugs offences. Coggins, most recently of Woodpecker Close in West Derby, was jailed for 28 years, while the rest of the gang were jailed for a combined total of more than 155 years. Detective chief inspector Dave Worthington, from the NWROCU's operations team, said: "These were extremely dangerous men, and had we not come across the serious threats of violence from the Coggins OCG through Operation Venetic – this could have been a very different outcome. Article continues below "It’s clear that the Coggins OCG thought they were untouchable, and their messages untraceable, but with support from the NCA and Merseyside Police, we were able to bring this criminal enterprise to its knees and prove them wrong. This crime group made substantial amounts of money through their ill-gotten gains. "The cash they made was moved and transferred via various means to launder it, which subsequently funded their lavish lifestyles. The sentences this crime group received shows that crime doesn’t pay, and that we will stop at nothing to put those intent on flooding our streets with drugs and violence behind bars."