By tf-lawyer.com In a recent court session, it was revealed that Irish national Thomas Kavanagh, the leader of an organized crime gang, orchestrated a scheme from prison aimed at leading authorities to a hidden stash of firearms in hopes of securing a reduced sentence.
At 57 years old and currently incarcerated at HMP Dovegate, Kavanagh enlisted the help of his brother-in-law, 44-year-old Liam Byrne from Dublin, and 38-year-old associate Shaun Kent from Liverpool. As the prosecution detailed at the Old Bailey, Kavanagh believed that the discovery of the 11 guns by the National Crime Agency (NCA) would positively influence a judge during sentencing in a significant drug smuggling case.
According to the court, in May 2021, Kavanagh provided the NCA with details that led to the discovery of two holdalls in a field in Newry, which contained seven machine guns, three automatic handguns, an assault rifle, and ammunition.
Prosecutor Tom Forster KC described the case as involving “organised crime at a high level” and noted that the NCA’s success in seizing encrypted EncroChat communications, decrypted by French authorities, was crucial to foiling Kavanagh’s plan. He stated that “but for the NCA’s possession of the EncroChat evidence, there is every likelihood the plot would have been successful.”
The court also learned that between January 2020 and June 2021, the three men agreed to acquire as many illegal arms as possible from the UK, Netherlands, Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland. Kavanagh was already serving a three-year sentence for possessing a stun gun and faced serious drug charges connected to the smuggling of large quantities of cocaine and cannabis into the UK, for which he was sentenced to 21 years in March 2022.
Forster emphasized that Kavanagh was hoping for a “reward” in the form of a sentence reduction for his supposed cooperation. However, he insisted that Kavanagh and his co-conspirators never intended to genuinely assist law enforcement, as they were orchestrating the illegal acquisition of weapons through their own criminal activities, labeling the effort a “put-up job.”
All three defendants have pleaded guilty to multiple conspiracy charges regarding the possession of prohibited weapons and ammunition. Sentences are expected to be handed down by Judge Philip Katz KC on Tuesday.
