Kinahan crime boss tried to organise arms cache from jail to shorten sentence

An organised crime boss tried to orchestrate a plot to lighten his sentence by leading the National Crime Agency (NCA) to a stash of buried weapons.

Thomas Kavanagh, who was arrested on a multi-million pound drug case, hoped that by leading the NCA to the buried weapons, he’d escape with less jail time.

The 57-year-old ran the conspiracy from his prison cell while he awaited trial for the drugs charges, enlisting the help of his brother-in-law, 44-year-old Liam Byrne, and friend Shaun Kent, 38.

READ MORE: Major high street brand shutters several stores as bosses announce ‘mega sale’

Click for more of the latest news from across the world from the Daily Star.

Following the plot, Kavanagh was sentenced to six years in prison, while Byrne – who flew to Majorca following the events – was sentenced to five years, and Kent was given six years, reports The Mirror.

However, Kent – who has already served more days on remand than the sentence he’s been handed – is expected to be released from prison in the next few weeks.

The three men appeared in court via video link from HMP Belmarsh, while the two-day hearing was held at the Old Bailey.

Along with his six-year sentence, Kavanagh will also consecutively serve his previous sentence.

Talking directly to Kavanagh, Judge Katz said: “You Thomas Kavanagh were at the heart of these conspiracies which were designed for your benefit. You were in prison and still able to pull the strings.”

In May 2021, Kavanagh shared information with the NCA, leading them to a field in Newry, Northern Ireland, where they found two holdalls packed with weapons.

The holdalls contained seven machine guns, three automatic hand guns, an assault rifle, and ammunition.

Kavanagh’s plan was foiled when the NCA found incriminating texts on encrypted EncroChat, after it was hacked by French counterparts.

The leaked chat revealed that, between January 2020 and June 2021, the three men planned to acquire as many arms as possible” from the UK, Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

With Kavanagh running the entire operation from within his prison cell in HMP Dovegate, where he was serving a three-year sentence for possession of a stun gun and had been remanded on serious drug charges since March 2020, for which he was later sentenced to 21 years in prison.

Prosecutor Tom Forster KC said: “Put shortly, Thomas Kavanagh’s plan, with which the other defendants agreed and put into practice, was to assemble as many weapons and ammunition as possible, acquiring the arms from various criminals, then conceal them and finally reveal their whereabouts to the NCA.

“In this way, the conspirators intended to fool the authorities into concluding the assistance was genuine, when it was not, so that Thomas Kavanagh would be rewarded for helping the authorities to recover dangerous weapons by way of a considerable discount from his sentence.

“However, the true position was that he and his co-conspirators did not intend to provide any real assistance because they had orchestrated the acquisition of weapons and ammunition through their own serious criminality. It was a ‘put up job’.”

For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters .