The National Crime Agency (NCA) has successfully apprehended Michael Paul Moogan, a 37-year-old drug boss from Croxteth, Liverpool, who had been on the run since October 2013. Moogan vanished following a police raid that targeted a secretive drug cartel hub.
Moogan’s criminal operation was centred around Café de Ketel in Rotterdam, a covert location restricted to known individuals via a security system. The café served as a key meeting point for top drug traffickers coordinating shipments of hundreds of kilos of cocaine into the UK every month.
Working alongside the Dutch National Crime Squad, the NCA focused on Moogan and two other British nationals linked to the café. During the raid, Robert Hamilton, 71, from Hale, Greater Manchester, was arrested and later jailed for eight years in 2014 after pleading guilty. Another associate, Robert Gerard, 57, from Liverpool, surrendered after three years on the run and received a 14-year sentence in 2017.
Moogan masterminded an extensive international trafficking network importing Class A cocaine from Latin America into the European Union. He had access to large sums of money, up to €500,000 at a time, which he used to pay suppliers in lump sums through Iraqi nationals acting as money couriers in the UK.
The drugs were concealed in shipments of meat from Argentina and smuggled through Belgium, often facilitated by bribed port officials. From Belgium, a network of road routes spanning Bulgaria, Spain, Latvia, and Belgium transported the illicit cargo to the UK.
Despite employing multiple fake identities, including a German passport and forged UK driving licence, Moogan evaded capture for nearly eight years. He was finally arrested in Dubai in April 2021 after authorities noticed his attempts to avoid CCTV surveillance. This arrest marked the 86th under Operation Captura, the NCA’s high-profile fugitive pursuit in partnership with Crimestoppers.
After extradition to the UK, Moogan surrendered quietly, stating to officers: “You’re not going to have any trouble from me. I’m tired now. Get me up to Manny and get me in Cat A. I’m done now.”
In November, Moogan pleaded guilty to conspiring to import Class A drugs at Manchester Crown Court. His guilty plea helped him avoid a potential 20-year sentence, but he was still sentenced to 12 years in prison.
NCA Senior Investigating Officer Ben Rutter commented: “Moogan did everything he could to avoid this day but justice has finally caught up with him. His consignments of Class A drugs brought misery and real harm to UK communities. This sentence is the result of years of hard work by law enforcement across the UK, Europe and the Middle East. Fugitives take note: the NCA has a global reach and will never stop hunting you.”
Originally published by UKNIP.
