Cries of 'oh my god' as taxi driver with a secret is jailed

A taxi driver and former postman whose son was a promising Everton Academy footballer was secretly part of a major heroin and cocaine ring.

Kevin Rimmer acted as a courier for the conspiracy led by Vincent and Francis Coggins, which involved the trafficking of hundreds of kilograms of class A drugs worth millions of pounds across the country. The Huyton brothers also plotted a ruthless vendetta of violence after a raid on their stash house by rival gangsters saw them lose in the region of £1m of illicit substances.

A series of court cases heard over the past four years have been subject to a media blackout until this week, following the conclusion of the trial of co-conspirator Edward Jarvis. Details of Rimmer’s sentencing hearing back in October 2022 can therefore now finally be reported.

Liverpool Crown Court heard on this occasion that the 57-year-old, of Blacklow Brow in Huyton, was a taxi driver who completed deliveries for the NHS at the height of the covid pandemic, but used these trips as cover for transporting drugs and cash in case he was stopped by the police amid lockdown restrictions. Alex Leach KC, prosecuting, described how he was also responsible for storing heroin and cocaine and "handled large quantities of cash” - up to £100,000 worth - and “was responsible for monitoring stock levels".

Andrew Alty, defending, told the court that his client had acted as carer to his 87-year-old mum. He added that Rimmer - who also previously worked for the Royal Mail and was a dad-to-four children including 17-year-old twins, one of whom was said to have played for Everton’s academy - was "somebody who had clearly worked hard throughout his life" and "at all times was acting under the direction of others".

Mr Alty said: "This is going to be a horrendous time for him. His life is effectively over now."

Rimmer admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply heroin and conspiracy to supply cocaine, as well as possession of heroin in relation to a small quantity of the class A drug which was seized upon his arrest. Family members in the public gallery cried and said "oh my god" as he was jailed for 16 years.

Vincent Coggins, aged 58 and of Woodpecker Close in West Derby, 58-year-old Paul Woodford, of Marl Road in Kirkby, and 48-year-old Michael Earle, of Wallace Drive in Huyton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs and conspiracy to commit blackmail. They were imprisoned for 28 years, 28-and-a-half years and 11 years respectively.

Vincent Coggins

Dean Borrows, aged 39 and of Ledson Grove in Aughton, 46-year-old Darren Tierney, of Chatham Street in Stockport, 60-year-old Paul Fitzsimmons, of Birch Tree Court in West Derby, admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin. They were handed respective terms 14 years and three months, 12 years and nine months and 12-and-a-half years.

Paul Glynn, of Croxdale Road West in West Derby, admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine. The 59-year-old was given 11 years and two months.

Edward Jarvis, of Breckside Park in Anfield, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and blackmail. The 59-year-old will be sentenced at a later date.

Francis Coggins has not yet been apprehended but is wanted by the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit. He is believed to be abroad in Europe.

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