He spent years running a crime empire but could have been stopped

A gang boss whose EncroChat messages revealed his chilling plans to kill people he thought had robbed his drugs was previously accused of threatening to cut off a man's penis with a chainsaw.

Media reports from June 1990 showed the then 24-year-old appeared before the magistrates' court in Glasgow, charged with abducting and attempting to murder a man called Thomas Martin. Vincent Coggins was accused of shooting Mr Martin the leg, before allegedly threatening to cut off the man's penis with a chainsaw.

He messaged Michael Earle “M8 can you sort pineapple tonight” - a term used to refer to a hand grenade, while Paul Woodford offered to buy a firearm and ammunition on Vincent Coggins’ behalf. His target was Brian Maxwell, a professional drug dealer who later used the EncroChat phone network to source weapons including semi-automatic AR-15 rifles and an AK47 to protect himself from attack.

An EncroChat message at around 2.30pm that day said: “..he told me they were all out together Maxwell boser eves Saturday afternoon til Sunday for anniversary drink…so Maxwell saying he got CCTV of himself not leaving house on Saturday is a f***ing lie”. Later that day Coggins messaged Fitzsimmons saying “they all getting it”.

Police disruption continued despite the movements of the gang. Police attended Maxwell Sr’s home and gave him an Osman warning, while Earle was issued a disruption notice. Unnerved by the police attention, Earle appeared to back out. However, Vincent Coggins was undeterred. He wrote back: “Am staying till I’ve got every penny an at least done of one of the c****”. On June 3, Maxwell Sr signed over the money, the land and the house.

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