Scottish criminal Christopher Hughes, who has been sentenced to life in prison for the contract killing of Dutch crime blogger Martin Kok, was rushed to hospital last month after a brutal attack in a Scottish prison, British media reported.

Hughes, 35, was the victim of a serious assault by one or more inmates at Low Moss Prison in East Dunbartonshire, near Glasgow. The Scot was seriously injured in the brutal attack and was rushed to hospital. He was reportedly attacked in the yard. The attack reportedly resulted in a lot of blood being shed.

Insiders say the attack was part of a growing power struggle at Low Moss prison, home to some of Scotland's most notorious criminals. Scottish police are investigating the attack, but no one has been charged or arrested.

Hughes was sentenced to life imprisonment in April 2022 in the court in Glasgow for his involvement in the liquidation of crime blogger Martin Kok (49), on 8 December 2016 at the Boccaccio sex club in Laren. The sentence has a minimum term of 25 years. This means that Hughes can appeal for release in a quarter of a century.

Hughes was with Kok when the crime blogger was shot dead in his car in the parking lot of the sex club by an unknown gunman. He had alerted others to Kok's location and when he was leaving the club.

The Scot was arrested in a hotel in Italy in January 2020. In addition to the murder of Martin Kok, he was also convicted of participating in a criminal organization and involvement in cocaine trafficking, arms trafficking, money laundering and setting up a company that supplies encrypted communication equipment to international criminal organizations. The drug and arms trafficking took place between 2013 and 2020.

MOB RULE How Italian mafia ‘took over’ quiet UK town & turned it into ‘Surrey Sopranos’ – before daring bank raid took them down
Frankie the Strangler drove a Ferrari around the stockbrokers-belt
Tom HusseyJonathan Rose
Published: 21:11, 8 Sep 2024Updated: 1:16, 9 Sep 2024
THE ITALIAN mafia "took over" a quiet UK town and turned it into the "Surrey Sopranos" before a daring bank raid foiled its plans.

Woking, in northwest Surrey, was a hotbed of crime and mafioso behaviour in the 1970s through the 80s and into the 90s.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/30288646/italian-mafia-quiet-uk-town-surrey-sopranos/

Woking out of all places lol, a very good place to lay low though

I can imagine it WAS a nice town for the Sicilians/Italians to live in not that far from London. Now it also has a big Asian/Muslim community.

Same as every town and city in the UK now

The 59-year-old Scottish drug lord who was arrested by an SWAT team in Bergen op Zoom (Netherlands) in February 2022 while he was jogging.

Billion dollar smuggling with onions, garlic and ginger
Dutch members of largest British drug organisation behind bars for long: 'Only causes death and misery'
Marcel Vink

02 Dec 202 4in Domestic

MANCHESTER - Two Dutch who were part of one of the largest drug gangs the United Kingdom has ever known, have been given heavy prison sentences. Our compatriots Johannes V. and Barbara R. from Utrecht will disappear behind British bars for 20 and 18 years.

The court in Manchester ruled on Monday. The gang that may have smuggled £7 billion worth of drugs from mainland Europe over two and a half years has been dismantled after a lengthy investigation, according to British justice.

The prosecutor spoke of probably 'the biggest drug smuggling network' ever discovered in the United Kingdom. Drug boss Paul Green (59), who was nicknamed The Big Fella, was the point of contact for numerous organised crime groups who paid the gang to send heroin, cocaine, amphetamines and cannabis to the United Kingdom.

Green and his accomplices went to great lengths to conceal their involvement as they set up a series of companies and warehouses in the Netherlands and the North of England, using false and stolen identities.

Vegetables as a cover
The drugs were hidden in pallets of fresh produce that were sent from our country to the United Kingdom by innocent transport companies. Criminals removed the narcotics after arrival in order to distribute them further in the country. Often it was the import of onions, garlic or ginger because they helped to hide the smell of drugs.

Prosecutor Andrew Thomas said a hallmark of the smuggling gang – active between March 2016 and September 2018 – was its determination to continue importing even after arrests and/or seizures of drug shipments. “As soon as one company was exposed, they would move on to another.”

Only six narcotics seizures were made, but investigators from the National Crime Agency (NCA) were able to prove that at least 240 shipments took place, with up to four shipments a week. Among the wealth of evidence collected were messages on Green's encrypted Encrochat phone, using his handler name 'Duckfarmer', to accomplices in which he arranged the shipments.

Dutch suspects
Johannes V. (54) from Utrecht was also convicted, as was Barbara R. (53). She is also originally from Utrecht, but last lived in IJsselstein. They were seen as the Dutch bosses and were sentenced to 20 and 18 years in prison respectively.

The gang members were given a good beating by Judge Paul Lawton. "Your main purpose was the importation of drugs on an international, and hitherto unprecedented, scale worth at least £2 billion and possibly as much as £7 billion." That is the equivalent of between €2.4 and €8.4 billion. "The damage caused beyond the importation is immeasurable. What you really brought was addiction, misery and death."

Also convicted was Russel L. from Kirkby, Liverpool, who speaks fluent Dutch. He was sentenced to almost a quarter of a century in prison.

'Cheaters'
Richard Harrison, NCA Regional Head of Investigations, added during the hearing: “Every tactic possible was used to evade detection and deceive justice. The perpetrators smuggled vast quantities of drugs into the UK. They had absolutely no ethics and left a trail of destruction for completely innocent people, cloning companies and stealing identities. Fortunately, the NCA officers and their Dutch partners were tenacious and left no stone unturned in this investigation.”

Forgot to post Part 2.

‘Invisible’ drug trade suspect arrested

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Colombia arrested a suspected British drug trafficker they described as "invisible" due to his low-key lifestyle that allowed him to remain anonymous while operating as a cartel's coordinator of cocaine trafficking from the South American country to the United Kingdom, authorities said Friday.

Christopher Neil was arrested Thursday in the northwestern city of Medellin in an operation by local law enforcement and Interpol. They accused Neil of working for Colombia's Clan del Golfo cartel.

Colombian authorities have coined the term "invisible drug traffickers" to describe those who operate discreetly, maintaining ordinary, low-profile lives that contrast with the eccentricity of the country's drug lords in the 1980s and 1990s.

https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2024/dec/14/invisible-drug-trade-suspect-arrested/

Christopher Neil, a British national known by the alias “Dips,” has been arrested in Medellín in a joint operation involving Colombia’s National Police, INTERPOL, and the Attorney General’s Office. Neil, who was wanted on an INTERPOL red notice, is accused of orchestrating major cocaine shipments to the United Kingdom and engaging in extensive money laundering operations.

Neil is alleged to be a key figure within the Clan del Golfo, one of Colombia’s most notorious drug cartels.

His criminal activities reportedly date back years. Neil is believed to have fled to Colombia in December 2018 after being implicated in two murders in England that investigators say were connected to gang disputes. His arrival in Medellín marked the start of his deeper involvement in Colombia’s criminal underworld.

According to Colombia’s National Police, Neil’s personal life further entrenched him in these circles. He is in a relationship with the daughter of Jesús Ignacio Roldán – “Monoleche” – a former leader of the disbanded paramilitary group United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a connection that allegedly facilitated his dealings with local crime syndicates.

Authorities used drones to track Neil’s movements around Medellín, where he was known for his ostentatious lifestyle. He frequently traveled in high-end vehicles and was often spotted walking his Pit Bull dogs, and dressed in the Atlético Nacional football jersey, blending in with fans near the city’s stadium.

Mastermind of Edinburgh's gang war is 'ex football hooligan and failed businessman'
City neighbourhoods have been rocked by a series of terrifying shootings and firebombings in recent weeks - reprisal attacks for an underworld heist.

https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/mastermind-edinburghs-gang-war-ex-31267528

Liverpool drug gang capo arrested in Netherlands

The Dutch police arrested a 60-year-old Briton in Zandvoort on Tuesday who is suspected in England of being the leader of a large criminal organization. The suspect is Francis Coggins from Liverpool, who is seen as a leader of the so-called Huyton Firm, also known as the Cantril Farm Cartel. This organized crime group has been involved in large-scale drug trafficking, extortion and contract killings since the 1990s.

Manhunt for drug lord Francis (60) ends after 5 years in Zandvoort: 'You can't run away'

A British man who had been wanted worldwide for more than five years was arrested in Zandvoort on Tuesday. The man is 60-year-old Francis Coggins, the British National Crime Agency (NCA) announced in a statement. Coggins is seen as a key player in international drug trafficking.

Sebastian Quekel 04-06-25, 23:01 Last update: 08:11
Coggins is on a wanted list in the United Kingdom and is suspected of smuggling heroin and cocaine, among other things. He is said to be involved in the organised import of narcotics from abroad into the United Kingdom.

According to British law enforcement, he plays a key role in a drug network that has been under scrutiny for some time.

Arrest in Zandvoort
The arrest took place last Tuesday in front of a house in a quiet residential area of ??Zandvoort. The exact location was not disclosed by the NCA. Officers of the Dutch police struck after months of observation and preparation. Coggins was immediately transferred to a secure location.

On Wednesday he appeared before the examining magistrate in Amsterdam. The magistrate decided to extend his pre-trial detention. The procedure for his extradition to the United Kingdom will start soon. A new hearing date will be announced.

A comment about this article or a tip about the arrest of Francis Coggins ? Please contact our reporter (anonymously) via s.quekel@ad.nl

'We find you'
The British authorities are relieved to hear of the arrest of the British criminal. Gill Duggan, head of the European branch of the National Crime Agency, emphasises the importance of international cooperation: "Wherever you flee, we will find you. Thanks to our strong network in Europe, we can continue to pursue criminals worldwide."

The North West Regional Organised Crime Unit, a specialist British police force focused on tackling serious crime, also stressed that no hiding place is safe. “This arrest shows our determination. Those wanted for serious crimes will ultimately be held to account, wherever they are,” said Detective Zoe Russo.

The arrest brings a temporary end to a long-running hunt for one of Britain's most wanted suspects in international drug trafficking, authorities say. They expect to bring Coggins to court in England as soon as possible. If convicted, he risks years in prison.

His brother Vincent Coggins was the top guy in the firm.

Huyton Firm: Brutal organised crime group brought down by its own text messages

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68857143