Kinahan cartel thug in reduced jail time plot over arms dump info leak could face 20 years over new charges
KINAHAN cartel leader Thomas ‘Bomber Kavanagh hoped to get a reduced prison term by providing information on a cartel arms dump, it has emerged.
The extraordinary revelation was made at Westminster Magistrates Court today.
It was also claimed during the hearing that Kavanagh organised for the arms to be dumped and their location leaked to the police as part of his plan.
Kavanagh, 55, is already serving a 21 year sentence for masterminding a €36m drug smuggling operation.
He was made aware of the National Crime Agency’s new case against him at today's hearing.
Appearing in court via video-link, Kavanagh has now been charged with conspiracy to possess firearms without a certificate, possessing ammunition without a certificate and possession of a ‘fire bull’ firearm.
He’s also charged with possession of a ‘dum dum’ bullet and with conspiring to pervert the course of justice.
Kavanagh listened intently to the charges and sat with his arms folded as the charges were put to him.
During the early morning hearing, the court also heard how Kavanagh had been accused of sourcing eleven firearms, later found in Newry, Co Down, in May 2021.
The weapons were three handguns, four machine guns, a rifle and three machine pistols.
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The Irish Sun previously published images of the weapons.
Although he is currently serving a sentence, he could be hit with another twenty year sentence if convicted of firearms offences.
Kavanagh was charged with the offences as part of the same investigation that led to charges being brought against his son Jack, 22, and brother-in-law Liam Byrne.
At present, both men are currently fighting extradition to the UK.
ARMS HEARING
As part of the hearing, Shaun Alexander Kent, 38, is also accused of using the encrypted online chat forum EncroChat from his prison cell to organise the prison drop.
The court has accused him of using the codenames ‘Marco Scafu’ and ‘Firm Cleaner’.
The court was told that between January 9 and June 3, 2021, while both men were awaiting trial, they conspired together to do a series of acts “namely to possess the firearms and seek to hide them in order to receive a reduced sentence.”
Kavanagh’s lawyer, Rosa Bennathan, attempted to have a reporting restriction passed banning mention of the conspiring to pervert the course of justice charge.
But this was rejected by the court.
The pair are expected to appear in court in on September 5.
Kent is expected to plead not guilty arguing that the EncroChat names have not been proven to be attributed to him.
SAME CHARGES
Liam Byrne and Jack will also be charged with the same offences as Kavanagh when they are extradited.
Although the probe is being run by the NCA, the law enforcement agency is also working closely with the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau.
The investigation under Operation Venetic led to the arrests in Spain of Jack Kavanagh, 23, from Tamworth, and Liam Byrne, 42, from Dublin, and extradition proceedings are underway.
NCA officers believe Liam Byrne, Jack Kavanagh and Shaun Kent conspired to pervert the course of justice by planning to reveal the location of weapons in an attempt to get Thomas Kavanagh a reduced prison sentence.
NCA Regional Head of Investigations Craig Turner said: “These charges are a major milestone in what has been a long and complex international investigation.
“We will continue to work with our partners to target criminals who we suspect are operating at the highest levels of organised crime impacting on the UK.”
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The initial EncroChat messages were discovered when the French authorities gained access to the communication platform. They then passed intelligence to the NCA.
The platform is operated by users given a username so they can communicate with others on the platform.