A drugs kingpin who posed as a respectable businessman to import almost a BILLION pounds of cocaine now faces a challenge by prosecutors to seize his international assets.

Johnny Kock used a pond liner company as cover to ship vast amounts of high purity cocaine in boxes of washing powder – using legitimate companies as unwitting allies.

The 68-year-old Dutchman masterminded a massive drugs pipeline between Holland, Germany and Merseyside – capable of flooding the streets with up to £960million of high purity cocaine, the Liverpool Echo reports.

Kock, who was living in a nondescript, semi-detached house in Willow Road, Wavertree, Liverpool, with his partner Deborah Fagan, was jailed for 25 years in October last year.

Liverpool Crown Court heard how a Proceeds Of Crime Act (POCA) hearing will be held next year in order to try and seize his assets – which could include a Portuguese property.

Liverpool Echo

Alex Leach, prosecuting, said international investigations had now been completed.

Mr Leach said: “As far as Johnny Kock is concerned there are some international assets including a substantial asset in Portugal in contention and there is an underlying issue with his former wife Nina Gospodynova.”

He said that Miss Gospdynova had been informed of the proceedings, despite it being “very difficult to get hold of her”.

Fagan, 46, who was jailed for 12 months in April last year after admitting charges relating to drugs money, will also be part of the proceedings.

Liverpool Echo

Judge Andrew Hatton said the hearing would take place on March 21 next year, with an estimated length of four days.

The pensioner, described as “quiet, intelligent and unsuspecting”, remained completely unknown to police until his secret life was exposed when border agents in France uncovered one of his shipments in September 2013.

Liverpool Echo

Officers suspected Kock was responsible for importing at least £3.5m of super strength cocaine on a fortnightly basis.

It is believed he could have been responsible for trafficking up to six kilos of the drug in 57 separate shipments at the behest of crime cartels.

Only when border agents at the Channel Tunnel entrance in France uncovered 23 kilos of cocaine – with a purity of up to 88% – in a shipment of soap powder did the net close in.

Orders were delivered to several different addresses but the end customer was always Kock’s company, Aquaries Ltd, based at Binns Road industrial estate in Old Swan.

Kock admitted conspiracy to evade the ban on importing Class A drugs plus possessing criminal property.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/drugs-kingpin-who-tried-import-6815472

00000000000000000000000000000000000000