Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh and two associates amassed a stockpile of guns so they could get the Kinahan cartel boss the 'lightest possible sentence' for cocaine smuggling, a court heard.
Kavanagh, 57, his brother-in law Liam Byrne, 43, and Shaun Kent, 38, tried to dupe the National Crime Agency (NCA) by obtaining a cache of firearms including seven machine guns.
Kavanagh is currently serving a 21-year jail sentence for masterminding a €36m drug smuggling operation.
While in custody awaiting sentence at Ipswich Crown Court, he masterminded the gun plot with his brother-in law Liam Byrne, 43, and 38-year-old Shaun Kent.
The gang members intended to tell the NCA where the firearms were to get Kavanagh a reduced sentence.
The three men appeared in the dock at the Old Bailey today surrounded by dock officers.
Judge Philip Katz, KC, is due to sentence them tomorrow.
Prosecutor Tom Forster, KC, said: “This case concerns organised crime at a high level.
“Between January 2020 and June 2021, Thomas Kavanagh, Shuan Kent and Liam Byrne engaged in a plot with others, both known and unknown, to assemble a cache of prohibited weapons, hand guns and machine guns, and certificated ammunition.
“They agreed to acquire as many arms as possible from wherever such items could be sourced. Be they in the UK, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland.
“Their motivation was to assist Thomas Kavanagh to achieve the lightest possible sentence in relation to proceedings he faced on very serious drugs charges at Ipswich Crown Court that arose from an NCA investigation called Operation Hornstay.
“Mr Kavanagh orchestrated the plot when in prison at HMP Dovegate.
“He was serving a three year sentence of imprisonment in relation to his possession in 2019 of a stun gun device and, since March 12, 2020, had been remanded in custody on the Hornstay drugs charges.
“Those charges concerned an agreement between Mr Kavanagh and others to smuggle multiple kilos of both cocaine and cannabis into the jurisdiction between 2016 and 2017.
“If convicted, Mr Kavanagh knew he faced a very considerable sentence of imprisonment and, indeed, on March 28, 2022, he was finally sentenced to 21 years’ imprisonment.
“Mr Kavanagh’s plan 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 Mr 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 to use the vernacular ‘put up job’.
Kavanagh spoke to the NCA and told them weapons had been brought to the UK from Holland.
He produced a map which led police to a farm in Northern Ireland and after digging they found two hold alls containing 11 firearms.
Mr Forster said: “Mr Kavanagh finally executed the plan when he provided information to the NCA which led them to a location in Newry where two holdalls were found buried just beneath the soil.
“They contained seven machine guns, three automatic hand guns, an assault rifle and compatible ammunition - 11 prohibited weapons in total.
“The plot and those involved in it was laid bare by over three months’ worth of messages some of the conspirators sent to each other on special mobile phone handsets using an encrypted service called EncroChat. Essentially, WhatsApp for criminals.
“They used the devices to communicate with each other with complete candour so confident were they that EncroChat was a wholly secure system.”
Mr Forster told the court that in 2020, French law enforcement cracked the Encrochat system and obtained the gang’s messages from between April and June 2020.
They passed the information to the UK’s National Crime Agency.
Kavanagh was referred to in the messages by the nicknames ‘Pops’, ‘Mick’, ‘Big Head’ and ‘Malla’, the court heard.
Mr Forster said Kent acted as Kavanagh’s ‘messenger boy’ receiving instructions form him via a man who was in prison with Kavanagh.
Bryne lived close to Kavanagh’s family home in Tamworth, Staffordshire, the court heard.
Liverpool drug dealer Daniel McLoughlin, 37, was also charged in the plot but was cleared after the prosecution did not proceed with the case against him.
Kavanagh, Kent and Byrne admitted two counts of conspiracy to possesses a prohibited weapon and two counts of conspiracy to possess ammunition for a firearm without a certificate between January 9, 2020 and June 3, 2021.
Kavanagh and Kent admit perverting the course of justice.
They are said to have possessed firearms and hid them in order to reveal their whereabouts to the NCA and enable Kavanagh to receive a reduced sentence on ‘Operation Hornstay’- the drugs smuggling operation.
Byrne was charged after being extradited from Spain after being arrested as he holidayed in Mallorca.
Mr Forster said: “Mr Kavanagh’s ability to command others demonstrates he was at the apex of this criminal organisation.'
Kent tried to procure weapons from father and son Manchester-based drug dealers Asim Tufail, 52, and 24-year-old Junnaid Tufail.
Junnaid was 19 when he started committing crime with his father and described him as his ‘role model’ despite him being in prison for drug dealing for much of his youth.
Asim was jailed this year for 23 years earlier this year while Junnaid was jailed for 11 years for a drugs and firearms conspiracy.
Kent was supplied with a dummy weapon from the two men, the court heard.
Junnaid agreed to provide Kent with two 9mm handguns and a Magnum 44 spinner for £14,000.
Junnaid used a ‘kid’ to deliver the items and was paid in cash, Mr Forster said.
Mr Forster said: “However, almost immediately Shaun Kent terminated his dealings with Junnaid Tufail.
“He sent Mr Tufail a message that ‘them things are plastic’.
“It transpired that Mr Tufail had caused Mr Kent to be supplied with a plastic imitation firearm, a bb gun weighted down with a house brick, to give the package the feel of real firearms.
“Not unsurprisingly, there was a considerable falling out. After a great deal of messaging and “to and fro” Mr Tufail informed Mr Kent that he would “give him 7500 out of my own doe (sic).”
The gang would refer to bullets as ‘sweets’ in EncroChat messages.
They referred to getting ‘big ones’ and ‘small ones’ and ‘stuff what makes a loud noise’.
In one message they referred to how many ‘tools’ had to be given for a deal and said ’10 big ones will be enough’.
On May 11, 2020 Byrne arranged to collect two firearms from a man on a push bike outside a butcher’s shop in Sandforth Road, Liverpool.
On June 13, 2020 Kent circulated a message with a warning notice from EncroChat that users should power off their devices and physically dispose of them.
Officers from the NCA attended HMP Dovegate on 19 April 2021 to interview Kavanagh.
Mr Forster said: “Mr Kavanagh informed the officers he had been told 15 to 16 months previously that there was a cache of 10 to 20 firearms that had been moved to Northern Ireland from Holland.
“He did not tell the officers that whatever arms existed and from wherever they had come from, he had in fact orchestrated matters.”
His solicitor then emailed the officer a map with an ‘X’ on it and instructions on the reverse.
Mr Forster said: ‘The documents provided to the NCA included directions to a location in a field off Church Road, Jerretpass, Newry, County Down, in Northern Ireland.
“This location was visited by officers and searched on May 20 using metal detectors.
“Upon obtaining a positive indication from the device over a patch of soil near the fence line an officer removed some earth and found two black holdall sports bags, the tops of which were about three inches below the surface.
“Inside the bags were 11 guns along with live ammunition. They included three Skorpion machine guns along with live ammunition, an assault rifle, a sock containing live ammunition, three Heckler and Koch self-loading pistols along with magazines containing live ammunition, a PPS43 sub- machine gun along with live ammunition, a POF PK1 sub machine gun along with live ammunition, a Intratec DC9 sub machine gun also containing live ammunition and an Uzi machine gun with live ammunition.
“All the guns are prohibited and were successfully test fired.
“The clear inference to be drawn is that Mr Kavanagh’s act in providing the location of the weapons in Newry was the final step in executing what he hoped would prove a successful criminal enterprise to fool the authorities and result in a wholly unmerited reduction in sentence.
“However, the NCA withdrew all cooperation with TK. His plan had come to nothing.”
The two day sentencing hearing continues.
The Encrochat Messages Reveal The Plot
All three men appeared in person before His Honour Judge Philip Katz at London's Old Bailey on Monday, where the full details of the plot were first heard. Byrne, wearing a dark navy jumper and white shirt, sat at the back of a glass-encased dock in the centre of the courtroom behind Kavanagh, who sat in front wearing a blue tracksuit.
In mitigation, a Defence barrister for Liam Byrne later told the court that his client "never wants to find himself in this position again," and "wants to find himself living a good and honest life" when he is released.
The court heard how Kavanagh was growing increasingly "frustrated" behind bars as his sentencing date for the drugs grew closer - and as a 'middleman' who was being used to pass messages onto Kent and Byrne was about to be transferred out of the prison he shared with him.
The court heard, for example, a message that stated how Liam Byrne, who used the names 'Gargler' and 'Thai Live' on Encrochat, could "source Glocks for £3,500 each." Byrne was told in encrypted messages to "try and get as many of them (firearms) as you can, he (Kavanagh) needs them," and was also told that it was the "only chance he's got of getting a good result out of this case".
Prosecuting Counsel told Judge Katz that it was clear from the messages that "sizeable sums of money were required to be exchanged for these firearms" - with the court later hearing how sums of £14,000 and €86,000 needed to be handed over for them.
Prosecuting Counsel Tom Forster KC said the case was about "organised crime on a high level" that began in January 2020 and ended in June 2021 when Kent, Byrne and Kavanagh conspired with others to assemble cash to purchase as many weapons as possible - namely handguns and machine guns to try and "achieve the lightest possible sentence".
Mr Forster stated that Kavanagh "orchestrated the plot from prison", where he was at the time serving a three-year sentence for possessing a stun gun, and facing proceedings over the conspiracy to import cocaine and cannabis. Kavanagh, they said, conspired with others to "assemble as many weapons and ammunition as possible" and to conceal them before finally revealing their location to the NCA.
The effort was an attempt to try and "fool the authorities" in a "put up job" to conclude that Kavanagh's assistance was genuine and that he could be rewarded with a considerable discount to his sentence. Kavanagh was referred in the chats, which were uncovered by the NCA after Enchrochat was hacked into in 2021, as 'Pops' and 'Big Head,' - and the prosecution stated that there was "every likelihood" his plot would have been successful had the encrypted platform not been broken into.
The prosecution outlined that Shaun Kent "acted as the messenger boy" and took instructions from a middle man in prison about how and from whom the weapons could and should be acquired. Kent, they said, used Encrochat to relay messages to others, including Liam Byrne, and to give them instructions from Kavanagh.
In order to progress the plot Kent, first using the encrypted handle 'Marcos Cafu', "sought weapons from various sources," for example, criminals in Manchester, the prosecution said. Liam Byrne, the prosecution said, was a "close associate" of Thomas Kavanagh and his brother in law, and was close to him and his family.
Byrne, who was described as a big cog in the machine, acted on instructions to acquire firearms and ammunition using an encrypted device using a variety of handles, including 'Liquid Byrne' 'Gargler,' and 'Thai Live'.
Kavanagh's Frustration and the Threat of Violence
A man who cannot be legally named because he is before the courts was described by the prosecution as being directed by Thomas Kavanagh to "drive plans forward" and used an encrypted handle to communicate and act as his "eyes and ears on the ground". He told the others in encrypted messages that "10 big ones will be enough," but ultimately "struggled" to acquire the weapons.
Kavanagh, the prosecution said, then became "increasingly frustrated by the efforts of the defendants". On May 22, Shaun Kent, using an encrypted handle, messaged Liam Byrne to say that he (Bomber Kavanagh) will end up cracking heads mate" amid the continued effort to find weapons.
Some weapons then were acquired by Liam Byrne, the prosecution said, and Kavanagh's desire to acquire more became "all the more urgent" as criminal proceedings against him before Ipswich Crown Court progressed. In a message to Liam Byrne, an encrypted user references weapons in a "flat" that should be left there until the sentencing stage when the 'big things' would then be handed up to the NCA.
Another man who cannot currently be named as he's before the courts is alleged to have been asked in further encrypted messages seen by investigators if they are going to tell the NCA "he has tools in Ireland and the UK," to which he responds: "Yes. Going on up North." That man is also alleged to have stated: "He's (Bomber Kavanagh) just out to save his own neck," and claimed that Kavanagh had people "knocking on doors" to get "tools" (the firearms) brought over asap".
The prosecution stated that it was clear from the face of these messages that an associate of Thomas Kavanagh was not just contacting people on Encrochat about getting the weapons, but that he was actually visiting other people's properties about it too. Further messages between other associates reference the weapons being found in two hold-all bags and how the "papers put it down to the Kinahan cartel".
The prosecution outlined how the 11 firearms were ultimately found buried in a field in Newry in two bags, as described. Further encrypted messages mentioned Byrne in relation to "40 small ones," a reference again the prosecution said was in relation to securing firearms.
The Continuing Search for Weapons
Shaun Kent, they said, spoke to a man on April 9 about acquiring "sweets", a reference the prosecution said was in relation to ammo, and a skorpion machine pistol. On April 15, Kent relayed a message to Kavanagh about Liam Byrne - then referenced as 'Gargler,' - being unable to get the tools up to someone called 'the farmer'. There were messages again referencing "10 big ones" and how they would be enough.
On April 18, an associate was informed on Encrochat that Liam Byrne "could source glocks for £3,500 each," and a message referencing how Byrne could "sort tools" was also sent. Kent sent Byrne a message asking Byrne to "keep on about locating them things" and in referencing Kavanagh's increasing frustration told him: "Mate, try and get as many of them as you can. He needs them. Only chance he's got of getting a good result out of this case." Messages also referred to getting Byrne to meet with Kavanagh's legal team, the prosecution said.
On May 12, an encrypted user sent Byrne a picture on Encrochat of a firearm in a case, the prosecution said, which was looked at by experts who considered it to be a "very new weapon with a magazine full of ammunition". Byrne was told that there were seven of those firearms and that "rides" (transport) would be available.
On May 11 and 13, Byrne dealt with an encrypted user where he discussed the acquisition of the firearms - which were referred to as 'tools.' He got back in touch with that user on May 19 and asked if the tools had been supplied in 'flat'.
On May 13, Byrne was sent a picture in an encrypted message of a handgun and a message about "10 big yokes". On May 14, Kent, meanwhile, sent a message to another associate about obtaining 25 'things' - i.e. firearms from the Netherlands.
On May 27, the prosecution said there were further messages about guns, in particular a reference to glocks. Kent, the prosecution said, sought to obtain firearms and ammunition in Manchester and in a deal with his contact on May 14, he told him he needed handguns. Kent was told in these messages that he could be supplied with anything - including RPGs.
The prosecution said he ordered three skorpion machine pistols and two handguns - and sought about securing an RPG.He purchased two 9mm magnum 44 spinner guns at a price of £14,000 and dispatched a courier to deliver the guns. Kent then informed Liam Byrne that he "just got three of them through our mate" and that he hoped to get five more in a week. Byrne, who was pleased, replied "ah deadly mate fair play, they will add up nicely".
The prosecution said Kent then informed Byrne he was waiting on instructions via Kavanagh's middleman in HMP Dovegate prison about "whether RPGs should be obtained". There was, at this stage, a "greater deal of urgency" as the middleman was due to be moved out of the prison, the court heard.
Then it transpired that a weapon purchased from this person by Kent was in fact a plastic imitation firearm - namely a BB gun that was "weighted down" to give the feel of a real gun. This, the prosecution said "caused a considerable falling out," and the seller ultimately agreed to give Kent back £7,500 "out of my own dough". Kent then had to inform Liam Byrne what had happened - telling him that "them things I located, no good".
The prosecution said the pair then continued to advance their plan - trying to find firearms for Kavanagh wherever they could be found. Encrypted messages after this asserted that Kavanagh was "not happy" and will "end up cracking heads. Now get on".
The Weapons Are Found and the Plan Fails
In further messages on May 30, there were discussions about getting "items" "up north" and a message stating that "time is running out". On May 31, an associate provided Byrne with a "new source of weapons" and further messages stated that he had "20 small cards" in 'flat'. In a message in response, Byrne asked the associate "how long" the weapons would sit there, and was told "until sentence I'd say".
In another message exchange, an associate informed another that they now had "20 small yokes in flat" and that they "need paying for" at a price of €86,000. A message referenced talking to 'Big Head' and how he had someone knocking on his door and talking in code about tools. The associate said Kavanagh was under "pressure in there" on another level 23 hours a day, "waiting on court date, waiting on other yokes, madness".
On June 13, Encrochat collapsed, and police around the world gained access to conversations between criminals. The prosecution stated that Kent circulated a message telling associates that the service had been "penetrated by a government agency" and warned them to physically dispose of their devices. At that stage, the "whole system went dark" but the prosecution asserted that further chats must have been inevitable because the plot progressed.
The Sentencing Hearing
A year after that, Kavanagh met NCA officers from behind bars in Dovegate prison and gave them the information about the weapons which were ultimately found. The prosecution stated that possession of a prohibited weapon carries a maximum sentence of 10 years, and that in this case they submit that the trio have "high culpability" and should be sentenced at the top end of the scale.
Defence Counsel for 'Bomber' Kavanagh said he is effectively serving a 24-year sentence - three years for a stun gun and 21 years for conspiracy to import drugs, and asked the Judge to consider concurrent sentencing. They further stated that the financial cost to the taxpayer of bringing Byrne and Kavanagh to court every day is £30,000 a day - and had the matter progressed to trial, it could have cost a million pounds.
The Defence stated that "full credit" or close to it therefore be given to Kavanagh for his guilty plea, sparing the cost of such a trial. Jeremy Dein, defending for Byrne, meanwhile, stated that he "never wants to find himself in this position again" and that he "wants to find himself living a good and honest life".
He further stated that Byrne has been with his partner Simoan McEnroe for 27 years and has three children aged 9, 14 and 24, who he has barely been able to see since being imprisoned. Mr Dein said Byrne is a "spray painter by trade" and was also involved in the buying and selling of cars.
While in custody, his father James 'Jaws' Byrne died - and he was "extremely distressed upon hearing that news," Mr Dein said. He said his client was at that stage last month "barely able to communicate with anyone," but he said his behaviour was "impeccable in the most challenging of circumstances".
"He was sitting in court on the day of his father's funeral unable to communicate with members of his family," he added. Mr Dein said because of Byrne's situation he could have "no dealings" with his father before he died. He further asserted that "a massive amount of public money and inconvenience has been saved" by Byrne pleading guilty and pleaded with the judge to sentence him to the minimum term.
Judge Katz told the court that he had not yet made a decision in the case and put the matter back to Tuesday, when he will impart sentence.
The Aftermath: A Warning To Criminals
This case serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of engaging in organized crime. The plot by Kavanagh, Byrne, and Kent was carefully orchestrated, but it ultimately failed due to the use of encrypted communication, which was broken by law enforcement. This case highlights the lengths to which criminals will go to avoid justice, but it also demonstrates the effectiveness of law enforcement in combating these activities.
The sentencing hearing in this case is a significant event, and it will be interesting to see what sentences are handed down to the three men. The case has already had a significant impact on the Kinahan cartel, and it is likely to continue to have repercussions for the gang in the future.
