‘Thought he was untouchable' – Mob godfather Kavanagh faces €1m mansion seizure after kingpin caged over €36m drug op

The Irish Sun

6 days ago

CAGED mob godfather Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh will discover next month if he's lost his €1m mansion.
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Thomas Kavanagh is at risk of losing his €1million mansion in the UK
Credit: PA:Press Association
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The UK's National Crime Agency set to present a case that will strip Thomas' home away in court
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New evidence about the cartel party came to light during the investigation
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Along with his plush pad in Tamworth, investigators will also argue that €40,000 in cash and €250,000 worth of jewellery were bought with the proceeds of
If Kavanagh loses the case, his wife Joanne, 50, who's not involved in crime and is the sister of 2016 Regency Hotel shooting victim David Byrne, is expected to leave the fortified mansion in England and return to her native Crumlin,
The case is going ahead as Kavanagh continues to serve the 21-year sentence he received for running a €36million
His last appearance in court was last year when he received a six-year sentence — to run alongside his current term — for smuggling weapons that included seven machine guns, three automatic handguns, an assault rifle and ammunition.
READ MORE ON KAVANAGH
Kavanagh — who was the CEO of the
His son Jack, 23, brother-in-law
Ahead of the kingpin's upcoming court appearance in Ipswich, we spoke to one investigator about Kavanagh's fallen empire.
They told us: 'The only reason Kavanagh moved to the
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'He thought he was untouchable, but his criminal empire is now in ruins. When he eventually comes out of prison, he won't have much and his position in organised crime will also be in tatters.'
Devastated daughter slams Kinahan quartermaster for 'destroying' family as role in innocent grandad's murder revealed
They added: 'Bomber Kavanagh is now seen as toxic because he was willing to give up those guns to protect himself and ended up getting his son, brother-in-law and best friend a conviction over it.'
CARTEL PARTY
And, as part of our revelations on ongoing efforts to dismantle Kavanagh's empire, we also reveal new details of the cartel party held at the height of the deadly Kinahan and
An exclusive CCTV image shows cartel gun runner Liam Byrne arriving in his luxury Range Rover at the gathering at
Greeted by Kavanagh's runner Gary Vickery, 42, who is now serving a 20-year sentence for his role in Kavanagh's drug smuggling plot, Byrne would stay at the luxury hotel for two nights.
Following Byrne's arrival for the cartel's
Another CCTV image shows Kavanagh arriving, as his associates waited on him.
Other senior figures who were present included Declan 'Mr Nobody' Brady, 59,
They were joined by Byrne's cousin Liam Roe, 45, and his dad James 'Jaws' Byrne, 76.
ARMS DEPOT RAID
The gathering was held just a week before innocent grandad Noel Kirwan, 62, was shot dead by a cartel hitman.
Other associates included Kavanagh's business partners in the UK and a senior figure with the McCarthy/Dundon crime gang.
The event was held just one month before investigators raided the arms depot Brady was running at the Greenogue Industrial Unit.
During their two-day stay at the hotel, Gary Vickery had responsibility for arranging 18 rooms and forked out over €12,000.
Vickery stayed in room 2303 and spent €2,689 during his stay.
He was also hit with a €200 parking fine after his associates parked on double yellow lines, and spent €336 on his room service bill.
The footage was later obtained by the NCA under 'Operation ­Hornstay' and sent on to the
'ONGOING ACTIVITIES'
Former Detective Inspector Noel Browne — who was previously the Gardai's liaison officer in
Mr Browne told us: 'We were liaising very closely with our colleagues in the NCA at the time, and provided them with information on who was present at that meeting.
"We believed that gathering was used as a way for the criminal organisation to discuss their ongoing activities.
'We don't know what was discussed at the meeting, but we know now that it happened just a number of days before Mr Kirwan was murdered, and we know
'They were in full flow when that meeting took place, and it was only a month later that we discovered their arms depot at Greenogue.'
'AGM' OF CRIME GROUP
We also spoke to an NCA investigator, who told us: 'This Christmas Party allowed us to identify the wider group. I would call it the AGM of this crime group.
'We gathered evidence around what was effectively the organised crime group's Christmas do.
'A number of prominent criminals from both Dublin and the UK all came together and the full cost was paid in cash by Gary Vickery.
'It was very obvious that Thomas Kavanagh had a really high profile and standing within this group of criminals. That meeting showed that this group were making lots of money and that they wanted to come together to discuss their criminality.'
Since the party, Kavanagh, Brady and Vickery remain in prison.
Liam Byrne was released from his five-year gun-running sentence and remains under a Serious Crime Prevention Order.
Both James Byrne and Liam Roe have since died, while Sean McGovern is fighting extradition to Ireland from the UK after he was arrested in
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David Byrne was shot dead in an attack at the Regency Hotel in 2016
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Liam Byrne was spotted arriving at the cartel party on the CCTV
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Gary Vickery is serving a 20-year sentence for his role in Kavanagh's drug smuggling plot
Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk