Drugs case against Arran Coghlan collapses

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Alderley Edge businessman Arran Coghlan has been released from jail after having drug charges against him dropped.

Mr Coghlan, 39, was arrested by officers from the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) as he arrived at Manchester Airport in September 2010. He was charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine and has remained in policy custody for the last 9 months.

Mr Coghlan was cleared when the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) offered no evidence against him at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday.

A spokesman from the CPS said "We have offered no further evidence so the case against Mr Coghlan has been dropped.

"We are going back to the court next week just to clarify matters so we cannot provide any further details at this stage."

Mr Coghlan from Brook Lane has also been cleared of murder charges on three occasions.

In February 2010 he was charged with the murder of Stephen Akinyemi, after his body was found in the bathroom of Coghlan's converted chapel. A post mortem revealed that Mr Akinyemi had died of a gun shot wound.

Having pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder, Arran Coghlan was released from prison in July 2010 after CPS dropped a charge of murder because they were unable to prove that the defendant had not acted in self defence.

He was also cleared of murdering Chris Little in the mid 1990's, Mr Little was shot dead at the wheel of his car in Marple. Then, along with five other men, he was accused of murdering David Barnshaw, who was found in a burnt out car in Lower Bredbury in September 1999. The case collapsed in 2003 because the police withheld information regarding another suspect.

Tags:
Arran Coghlan, Crime, Drugs
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