Extraordinary details of an organised crime gang’s bizarre gun plot has been revealed in a court hearing.
Irish national Thomas Kavanagh, 57, who was head of the Kinahan organised crime group, tried to reduce his sentence for drug smuggling, by enlisting other gang members to source a cache of weapons and then telling police where it was located.
A hearing at the Old Bailey yesterday (21 October) heard Liam Byrne, 43, a leading member of the gang, told other mobsters he could source Glock pistols for £3,500 (€4,200) each, The Irish Times reports.
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Byrne, whose son is dating the daughter of Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, used the name “Thai Live” on the encrypted messaging system EncroChat.
The messaging service is a “go to” service for gangs and that was like “WhatsApp for criminals”, the court heard.
Byrne, of Dublin, and other gang members used the system in 2020 to try and help his brother-in-law, Kavanagh, 57, who mobsters nicknamed Big Head, Pops and Our Mate.
In a bid to trick Brit cops into thinking Kavanagh was helping them, the gang assembled a cache of weapons and then told them where it was located.
(Image: PA)
A series of EncroChat exchanges were read out at the hearing for Byrne, Kavanagh and Liverpool gangster Shaun Kent (38), which revealed how they attempted to dupe police.
Most of the intercepted messages were sent in April and May of 2020 when Kavanagh masterminded the plan from behind bars.
The court heard he sent instructions via another prisoner to Kent on the outside who passed them onto Byrne and others as the gang sought to assemble guns.
Byrne told other gang members he was looking into acquiring “40 big ones” – meaning guns.
Kent, who was know to other gang members as “Firm Cleaner” and “Marcos Cafu”, told him: “Try and get as many as you can. It’s the only chance he’s [Kavanagh] got of getting a good result out of [the UK drugs case].”
Byrne, who used the handle “Gargler”, contacted a Liverpool gangster who was referred to as “Tabuki” to ask about Glocks.
“What other big stuff does your mate have?” another gang member asked.
Kent bought three guns for £14,000 from another criminal and told Byrne afterwards he could source another five and his supplier was “using a kid to deliver the arms”.
When Byrne heard about the purchases, he said: “Deadly mate, fair play. They will add up nicely.”
But the three guns Kent bought turned out to be fake, plastic weapons.
(Image: PA)
Byrne discussed with a criminal about splashing out £86,000 for “20 small yokes”.
He told another that he “may also take” an MP5 machine gun that was offered to him.
The gang members also discussed buying rocket-propelled grenades and C4 explosives.
At one stage, Kavanagh got frustrated with the slow pace of the plot
After the plot got disrupted by Covid lockdowns, Kavanagh got frustrated with other gang members, and Kent told him Kavanagh would “crack heads”.
All three men pleaded guilty to weapons charges, and Kavanagh and Kent also admitted perverting the course of justice.
The hearing continues today when the men will be sentenced.