‘Tired’ Liverpool gangster Michael Moogan asks for jail after eight years on the run

Michael Moogan
Michael Moogan Credit: National Crime Agency

A gangster who was on the UK's 'Most Wanted' list is facing a lengthy prison term after admitting his part in a massive drugs conspiracy.

Michael Paul Moogan, 36, from Croxteth, had been on the run for eight years when he was picked up by Dubai police in April 2021.

The UK's National Crime Agency had been hunting him since October 2013 over a plot to bring hundreds of kilos of cocaine into the UK every month.

Moogan and his associates were involved in plans to import the drugs from Latin America to the EU.

Moogan told criminal contacts that he brought the cocaine into the UK concealed in meat shipments.

He went on the run after police raided a cafe in the Netherlands which was being used as a front for meetings between drug traffickers and cartels.

The Café de Ketel in Rotterdam was a business not open to the public and it could only be entered via a security system and was strictly for "known faces".

After being extradited to the UK, he told the NCA arresting officer: “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.”

Michael Moogan Credit: National Crime Agency

Moogan appeared at Manchester Crown Court today, Friday, 4 November, and admitted conspiring to import Class A drugs.

He will return to court to be sentenced at a date to be fixed.

NCA Senior Investigating Officer Ben Rutter said: “Moogan’s long overdue conviction is the result of years of investigation by the NCA and law enforcement partners in the UK, Europe and Middle East.

“We are particularly thankful to the Dubai Police for their hard work in tracking Moogan down and ensuring his return to the UK where he has admitted his guilt.

“This case should serve as a warning to others on the run from the NCA – we have a global reach, we never give up and they can never rest easy.

“Moogan was a major figure in international drug dealing.

“His consignments of Class A drugs undoubtedly brought misery and real harm to the UK communities they reached.”


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