Brutal enforcer ‘Kingwasp’ scapled girl and helped supply grenades for druglord
A notorious Merseyside gang enforcer helped source military-grade weapons as well as inflicted brutal torture onto his victims.
Paul “Woody” Woodford is a key figure in Merseyside’s criminal gangland, who, along with Huyton Firm king pin Vincent Coggins, was part of a threatening blackmail plot that saw a dad hand over land and property worth £1million.
The Liverpool Echo was able to outline the pair’s sordid activities, and delved into Woodford’s troubling history following a reporting ban lift.
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Using “Kingwasp” as a handle on messaging platform EncroChat, Woodford communicated with Coggins, along with a number of other associates including Coggin’s brother Francis, to coordinate drug hauls and distribution as well as plot revenge on people.
(Image: NWROCU)
Looking back at Woodford’s history paints a worrying picture of a man completely unafraid of using the most devastating violence if it benefited him.
Woodford’s first act of violence that captured media’s attention was in 1995, when he snuck into a woman’s house and attacked her with a machete in an apparent unprovoked attack.
As she cowered behind a chair, he pulled her up by her ponytail, and while shouting “Apache”, hacked it off. His only defence was that someone had spiked his drink with drugs while in a pub that night.
Woodford launched into the attack while he was on bail for another incident, where he tortured a man with a hot iron, machete and knives. He was eventually sentenced to seven years in prison at Liverpool Crown Court for intent to commit grievous bodily harm and affray.
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
It’s believed it was after his release from prison that Woodford fell in with the Coggins organisation. Woodford operated in both Amsterdam and Spain, and a European Arrest Warrant was issued for him in 2008. He was extradited from Holland to Spain but then released without charge.
For a period of time, Woodford’s seedy and menacing activities flew under the police radar, however following the EncroChat hack, police learnt Coggins was deploying the thug as an enforcer.
After the gang’s stash house was raided, Woodford quickly offered his services. After Vincent Coggins obtained names for who he believed was behind the raid, Woodford offered to buy him a firearm and ammunition.
When Vincent Coggins told Woodford of his plan to kill them with the hand grenade, Woodford responded: “I kill him with u m8”.
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