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Drugs baron died after refusing to take medication

HMP Berwyn, WrexhamGetty Images

Johnny Kock was serving a 25-year sentence in HMP Berwyn when he died

At a glance

  • One of the UK's biggest drug barons died after refusing to take medication or have treatment for a long-standing heart condition

  • Johnny Kock, 75, had been jailed for 25 years after admitting importing Class A drugs

  • He refused a Covid vaccination

  • A coroner's court heard Kock caught Covid, but died of a cardiac arrest

One of the UK's biggest drug barons died after refusing to take medication or have treatment for a long-standing heart condition, an inquest heard.

Johnny Kock, 75, was a prisoner in HMP Berwyn, Wrexham, when he died on 16 August 2021.

In October 2014, he was jailed at Liverpool Crown Court for 25 years for shipping drugs.

Coroner John Gittins recorded a conclusion of death from natural causes after a Home Office pathologist said his death was due to cardiac failure.

Kock had contracted Covid but Dr Brian Rodgers said this played no part in his death.

Dr Rodgers said: 鈥淓ssentially he had refused treatment and a Covid vaccination."

Kock was arrested after 拢26m worth of cocaine was intercepted in France and Germany.

The two shipments were just two out of 57.

At the inquest in Ruthin, Mr Gittins, senior coroner for North Wales East and Central, said Kock was transferred to HMP Berwyn in April 2021.

He said the prisoner was put in a single isolation cell on 11 August because he was suspected to have contracted Covid.

The day before he died, Kock told the man in the prison cell next to him he thought he was dying.

He told his son William Fitzsimmons he felt 鈥渢errible鈥, so his son told him to see a doctor.

On 16 August Kock was found dead in his cell. Officers said he had clearly been dead for some time.

Following an investigation into Kock's death, the acting prison and probation ombudsman Kimberley Bingham found the general standard of clinical care Kock received at HMP Berwyn had been good.

However, she made some recommendations for improvements, especially relating to prisoners suspected of having Covid.

In a statement, Kock's brother Robert said it was a disgrace that he was not sent to hospital.

Mr Fitzsimmons said: "Where is the duty of care for a 75-year-old man with existing medical conditions? He died alone in an isolation cell."

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