LAST UPDATE | 22 Oct

TWO SENIOR LEADERS in the Kinahan gang have been jailed by a British court 

Thomas “Bomber” Kavanagh was jailed for six years for his part in a major gun seizure and his brother-in-law Liam Byrne received a five year term. 

A third man, Shaun Kent, who was also part of the plot, received a six year sentence. 

Kavanagh was the boss of the Kinahan Organised Crime Group’s British operations when he was arrested – he is already serving a 21 year jail term for those activities. 

Kavanagh, 57, had hoped that by leading the National Crime Agency (NCA) to a buried stash of 11 weapons, he could influence sentencing in a multi-million pound drug smuggling case.

Running the conspiracy from prison, Kavanagh enlisted the help of his brother-in-law, 44-year-old Liam Byrne, and associate Shaun Kent, 38, in the plan to deceive the NCA.

Byrne was jailed for five years while Kent was handed a six-year prison sentence after a two-day sentencing at the Old Bailey, with all three defendants appearing via video link from HMP Belmarsh this morning.

Kavanagh and Byrne, are both from Dublin, and Kent, is from Liverpool. The three admitted last month ahead of their trial at the same court to two charges of conspiring to possess a prohibited weapon, and two charges of conspiring to possess prohibited ammunition, between 9 January 2020 and 3 June 2021.

Kavanagh, Byrne and Kent in a NCA issued image. NCA NCA

Kavanagh and Kent also admitted conspiring with others to pervert the course of justice.

In a statement this afternoon the NCA said Byrne had fled the UK, but was arrested in June 2023 in the Alcudia area of Mallorca. He was escorted back to the UK by officers from the NCA in December 2023, where he was also charged with firearms offences and remanded into custody.

Uk police said that the police found the guns near Newry in Northern Ireland when Kavanaghs legal counsel gave them a map. It was all part of the plan to try and get Bomber a lesser sentence.  

The police were able to use messages found in an intercept of encrochat.

NCA Branch Commander Ty Surgeon spoke about the operation and that the guns were ready to be used. 

“At the instruction of their leader Thomas Kavanagh, Shaun Kent and Liam Byrne orchestrated a cynical and dangerous plot to plant a cache of weapons so Kavanagh could direct the NCA to them and reduce his time in prison.

“These weapons were viable and deadly weapons that were in the hands of a criminal gang, loaded and ready for use in criminality. What this group didn’t know is their Encrochat messages had been unveiled for law enforcement to see, showing every detail of their plan.

“The NCA’s mission is to protect the public from serious and organised crime, and as this case shows, we will pursue every avenue, including overseas, to ensure criminals are brought to justice.”

With reporting from Press Association.