An armed prison convoy that placed the streets of Liverpool on lockdown throughout the summer contained Huyton drugs gang boss Liam Cornett.
, known as 'the Lam', was jailed for after being convicted of a massive Class A drugs conspiracy.
Security around the notorious criminal - once handed a jail sentence for driving at a Dutch police officer - was so tight he was sentenced via video link to his prison.
For his trial, which lasted from May to August, he had to be produced at Liverpool Crown Court , however.
This led to his prison van being surrounded by police vehicles and outriders each morning and afternoon as the convoy travelled from HMP Manchester to Liverpool city centre.
Traffic would be stopped for minutes to make sure the route was unobstructed for Cornett's prison van.
In the city centre, armed officers would surround the court entrance as he arrived and left.
Armed police would also be present in the court building too, including outside the door to the room in that hosted his trial.
The dramatic scenes led to dozens of requests to the ECHO for details over who was within the prison escort van.
But reporting restrictions essentially prevented this information becoming public.
While armed police were visible to many in the city centre and the court, those on the jury would not have known the security related to one of the defendants in their case.
Knowing of the precautions taken around Cornett could have prejudiced their deliberations.
Cornett is one of several high-profile defendants whose journey to and from Liverpool Crown Court has caused disruption this year.
At the beginning of the year the trial surrounding the gangland murders of John Kinsella and Paul Massey led to the suspects being transported in an armed convoy.
There were similar measures in place for a man jailed for his role in a firearms investigation centred on Speke.
