Latest news with #ThomasKavanagh
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Daily Mail
Drugs kingpin who ran UK arm of Kinahan Cartel must pay back £1m of his criminal fortune after making £12m from international drugs racket
A drugs kingpin who ran the UK arm of the 'Kinahan Cartel' has been given three months to pay more than £1million of his criminal earnings. Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh, 57, was jailed for 21 years at Ipswich Crown Court in March 2022 after he pleaded guilty to conspiring to import class A and B drugs and money laundering offences in July 2020. The same court today concluded that the Irish national made an eye-watering £12,235,047 from the major drug importation conspiracy. It included a half share in his £1million pile in Tamworth, which was fitted with bullet proof windows, equity in a property in Majorca, cash in banks and made from rents, designer watches and clothing, a family holiday to Cancun and about £40,000 seized by police during the investigation. The Kinahan drugs operation is said to be run by Irish man Christy 'Dapper Don' Kinahan, 68, and his two sons Daniel, 48, and Christopher Jr, 44, who are based in Dubai. In April 2022 the US Department of State placed $5million rewards for information that leads to their arrest and prosecution, branding them the heads of a major international drugs cartel. Kavanagh's henchmen Gary 'Flash' Vickery, 42, and Daniel Canning were jailed for 20 years (reduced to 18 years on appeal) and 19 years and six months, respectively. Canning's sentence included five years for possession of a firearm to be served concurrently. Judge Martyn Levett, who sentenced the three and heard the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) case, accepted that financial investigations by the police and CPS had found that the recoverable amount identified from Kavanagh's existing assets is £1,123,096, which he was ordered to pay within three months or face further time in prison. Today he made POCA orders against Kavanagh and Vickery giving them each the same time to pay the money or face extra prison time. Separately, Vickery was found to have benefited to a total amount of £10,966,619, but only £109,312 was found to be available. He was also given three months to pay or face an extended sentence. The court heard Vickery's assets were assessed from money in bank accounts, a half share in a property in Lanzarote, where he was extradited from, vehicles, money spent on a wedding, holiday deposits, watches and a boat. Kavanagh's home was jointly purchased with his wife, Joanne, sister of Kinahan associate Liam Byrne. The couple purchased the luxury pad for £565,000 after Kavanagh's Dublin home was earlier seized by the Irish Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) in Ireland. There is no suggestion Mrs Kavanagh had any involvement in or knowledge of her husband's criminal activities. Other assets that were seized during a January 2019 raid on the address include designer goods estimated at £500,000, including around 100 pairs of designer shoes, 120 handbags, 36 pairs of Armani jeans, Hugo Boss suits, Canada Goose and Moncler jackets as well as flashy watches and jewellery. The £40,000 cash was also found stuffed in a sofa and in Moschino, Gucci and Chanel handbags. Before being extradited to the UK from Lanzarote in November 2021, Vickery had a limited-edition Sunseeker Superhawk power boat, which had featured in the James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. Vickery and his wife Nicola O'Connor, who had no involvement in or knowledge of her husband's criminal activities, were living in a stunning gated villa in Macher on the island. On January 12, 2019, Kavanagh was arrested at Birmingham Airport as he returned from a holiday in Mexico. He was jailed at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court in September 2019 for three years for possessing a 10,000-volt stun gun disguised as a torch, which was found with other weapons during the raid on the house. In August 2023, Kavanagh, and Liam Byrne, 44, and Shaun Kent, 39, from Liverpool, were charged with firearms offences in connection with an informant plot which was hatched while the former was in jail over the stun gun conviction. Kavanagh later admitted at the Old Bailey that he had plotted to fool the NCA by saying in May 2021 that he had intelligence about where a stash of weapons from Holland was hidden buried in a field in Newry, Northern Ireland, in the hope of getting a lighter sentence in the drugs conspiracy case. The firearms: seven machine guns, three automatic handguns, and an assault rifle and ammunition, were recovered by police. The men had discussed the plot on the encrypted mobile phone system EncroChat, which was infiltrated by French police in April 2020, meaning the NCA had access to the messages. In October 2024 Kavanagh was sentenced to six years in prison to be served consecutively to his 21-year sentence. Byrne was sentenced to five years while Kent received six years. Investigations found Canning only has 16 euros and 19 cents left in an Ulster Bank account in Ireland. The CPS argued that he should be liable for the full amount of the drugs assessed at about £10.4million, but his defence barrister Richard Craven Furlong argued he had a lesser role than Kavanagh and Vickery and had no shareholding in any of the drugs. Canning's defence said he should only be held liable for various transactions into his various bank accounts that totalled around £145,000, about £80,000 of which he used to pay the rent on a unit where some of the drugs were taken. Mr Furlong said he was not disputing that he played a leading role in the conspiracy, but that he had no ownership of the drugs or any shareholding in the 'Kavanagh Cooperative'. Judge Levett said there was a 'huge discrepancy' between the amounts. The CPS argued due to the scale of the conspiracy involving 'multiple importations' he should be found liable for the full amount. Canning's POCA case was adjourned for further argument about Canning's assets. The case continues.
BBC News
5 days ago
- BBC News
Kinahan crime boss told to pay £1m or face more jail time
A UK boss of the Kinahan organised crime group has been ordered to pay back more than £1m or face more jail time, prosecutors have national Thomas Kavanagh, 57, who was sentenced to 21 years in 2022, will have three months to pay or face another 12 years in prison, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) estimate the Kinahan group, of which Kavanagh, from Tamworth in Staffordshire, was described as the "head", smuggled drugs from Europe with a street value of about £30m by hiding it inside machinery.A judge estimated Kavanagh and associate Gary Vickery, 42, of Solihull, gained £12,235,047 and £10,966,619 respectively from their criminal lifestyle, the CPS said. The judge at Ipswich Crown Court ordered Kavanagh to pay £1,123,096 based on his assets, which include his 50% share of a Tamworth mansion, money from the sale of various other properties in the UK and a villa in Spain, and about £150,000 of "high-end bags, clothes and accessories", the National Crime Agency from Mile Oak, was sentenced in March 2022, after admitting drugs and money laundering offences. Seized from hotel room Vickery, of Boundary Road, was ordered to pay £109,312 within three months or face another two years in prison, prosecutors previous court hearings, orders were made to forfeit an Audemars Piguet watch worth £75,000, as well as just over 100,000 euros that was seized from a hotel room when Vickery was arrested, the NCA 2024, Kavanagh was sentenced to an additional six years in jail - to run concurrent with his existing sentence - after he and associates plotted to lead NCA officers to a buried stash of 11 weapons in a bid to secure himself a lighter prison sentence for his multimillion-pound drug the conspiracy from prison, Kavanagh enlisted the help of his brother-in-law, Liam Byrne, 44, and associate Shaun Kent, 38, in the plan to deceive the was jailed for five years while Kent was handed a six-year prison sentence for their roles in the plot. Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Irish Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh ordered to pay €1.7m or spend 12 more years behind bars
Senior Kinahan cartel boss Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh has been ordered to pay the British State over €1.7 million following a proceeds-of-crime investigation - or spend 12 more years behind bars. Gangster Kavanagh, 57, who headed UK operations for the Kinahan cartel, has been given three months to pay the sum or face another 12 years in prison, the National Crime Agency in the UK announced on Friday. 'Bomber' Kavanagh, from Drimnagh in Dublin, was jailed for 21 years in the UK in March 2022 for orchestrating the importation of multi-million-pound drug shipments worth around €34 million (£30 million) at UK street value. He also admitted being involved in the illegal trafficking of firearms and money-laundering. Another high-ranking Kinahan gang member, Gary Vickery, 43, was arrested in October 2017 after NCA officers seized 15 kilos of cocaine and more than 220 kilos of cannabis which was found inside a six-tonne industrial tarmac removal machine in Dover. Gary Vickery (37) The development was announced on Friday by the NCA, who described Kavanagh as "the head of the Kinahan Crime Group in the UK." Subsequent investigations showed Kavanagh was heading up the criminal enterprise, and he was arrested at Birmingham Airport as he returned from holiday in January 2019. Following his sentencing, the National Crime Agency investigators began looking into the gang's finances and assets for seizure under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Officers estimated that Kavanagh's criminal profits were in the region of €13.7m but recoverable assets amounted to €1.7m. This includes his 50 per cent share of his fortified family mansion in Tamworth, Staffordshire, money from the sale of various other properties in the UK and a villa in Spain, and approximately €171,000 of high-end bags, clothes and accessories which were discovered when Kavanagh's house was searched following his initial arrest in 2019. Vickery was also subject to the POCA hearing and has been ordered to pay back around €124,000 within three months or face another two years in prison. At previous hearings orders were made to forfeit an Audemars Piguet watch worth €85,000, as well as just over €100,000 that was seized from a hotel room when Vickery was arrested. In October 2024, Thomas Kavanagh admitted additional firearms offences and perverting the course of justice, after NCA officers uncovered an elaborate plan that Kavanagh hoped would significantly reduce his prison sentence. PICTURED: Thomas Kavanagh Arrest The Fall of Bomber Kavanagh on Virgin. Kavanagh directed his trusted associates Shaun Kent and Liam Byrne to purchase firearms and ammunition and bury them so he could reveal their whereabouts to NCA investigators. All three were jailed for a total of 17 years, with Kavanagh's six years to be served on top of his 21-year sentence. Liam Byrne (left) and Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh (right) Kay Mellor, Head of Operations HQ at the National Crime Agency, said: "Thomas Kavanagh was the head of the UK's arm of the Kinahan organised crime group, responsible for the importation and distribution of drugs and firearms, making millions of pounds in the process. "He and his gang believed they were untouchable, but that proved to be their downfall. Kavanagh and Vickery will be behind bars for many years to come and now have to pay back more than £1 million to the state. "We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to target, disrupt and dismantle organised crime groups, deprive them of their assets and ensure they face justice". Adrian Foster, Chief Crown Prosecutor, said: "Thomas Kavanagh and Gary Vickery are dangerous criminals in the organised gang world, importing millions of pounds worth of dangerous drugs on an industrial scale to the UK. "This successful £1 million Confiscation Order demonstrates the prosecution team's commitment to work across borders to strip organised criminals of their illegal gains. "We continue to pursue the proceeds of crime robustly and will return them back to court to serve an additional sentence of imprisonment if they fail to pay their orders. "In the last five years, over £478 million has been recovered from CPS obtained Confiscation Orders, ensuring that thousands of convicted criminals cannot benefit from their offending. £95 million of that amount has been returned to victims of crime, by way of compensation." Sign up to the Irish Mirror's Courts and Crime newsletter here and get breaking crime updates and news from the courts direct to your inbox.
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Telegraph
Kinahan crime boss ordered to pay back £1m
A judge sitting at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday estimated that Kavanagh and his associate, Gary Vickery, 42, of Solihull, West Midlands, gained £12,235,047 and £10,966,619 respectively from their criminal lifestyle, the CPS said. The judge ordered Kavanagh to pay £1,123,096 based on his current assets, which include 'his 50 per cent share of his fortified family mansion in Tamworth, money from the sale of various other properties in the UK and a villa in Spain, and approximately £150,000 of high-end bags, clothes and accessories which were discovered when Kavanagh's house was searched following his initial arrest in 2019', a spokesman for the NCA added. Vickery was ordered to pay a sum of £109,312 within three months, or face another two years in prison, prosecutors said. 'Millions of pounds in the process' At previous court hearings, orders were made to forfeit an Audemars Piguet watch worth £75,000, as well as more than 100,000 euros that were seized from a hotel room when Vickery was arrested, the NCA added. Kay Mellor, head of Operations HQ at the NCA, said: 'Thomas Kavanagh was the head of the UK's arm of the Kinahan organised crime group, responsible for the importation and distribution of drugs and firearms, making millions of pounds in the process. 'He and his gang believed they were untouchable, but that proved to be their downfall. 'Kavanagh and Vickery will be behind bars for many years to come and now have to pay back more than £1 million to the state.' 'Dangerous criminals' Adrian Foster, chief Crown prosecutor, said: 'Thomas Kavanagh and Gary Vickery are dangerous criminals in the organised gang world, importing millions of pounds worth of dangerous drugs on an industrial scale to the UK. 'This successful £1 million Confiscation Order demonstrates the prosecution team's commitment to work across borders to strip organised criminals of their illegal gains. 'We continue to pursue the proceeds of crime robustly and will return them back to court to serve an additional sentence of imprisonment if they fail to pay their orders.'
Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Kinahan crime boss ordered to pay back £1m or face more jail time
A UK boss of the Kinahan organised crime group has been ordered to pay back more than £1m or face more jail time, prosecutors have said. Irish national Thomas Kavanagh, 57, of Mile Oak in Tamworth, Staffordshire, will have three months to pay the sum or face another 12 years in prison, the UK's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Friday. Prosecutors estimate the Kinahan organised criminal group, of which Kavanagh was the head, smuggled drugs from Europe with a street value of around £30m by hiding the products inside machinery. Kavanagh was sentenced in March 2022 to 21 years in prison after pleading guilty to drugs and money laundering offences. A judge sitting at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday estimated that Kavanagh and his associate Gary Vickery, 42, of Boundary Road in Solihull, West Midlands, gained £12,235,047 and £10,966,619 respectively from their criminal lifestyle, the CPS said. The judge ordered Kavanagh to pay £1,123,096 based on his current assets, which include 'his 50% share of his fortified family mansion in Tamworth, money from the sale of various other properties in the UK and a villa in Spain, and approximately £150,000 of high-end bags, clothes and accessories which were discovered when Kavanagh's house was searched following his initial arrest in 2019', a spokesperson for the NCA added. Vickery was ordered to pay a sum of £109,312 within three months, or face another two years in prison, prosecutors said. At previous court hearings, orders were made to forfeit an Audemars Piguet watch worth £75,000, as well as just over 100,000 euros that was seized from a hotel room when Vickery was arrested, the NCA added. Kay Mellor, head of Operations HQ at the NCA, said: 'Thomas Kavanagh was the head of the UK's arm of the Kinahan organised crime group, responsible for the importation and distribution of drugs and firearms, making millions of pounds in the process. 'He and his gang believed they were untouchable, but that proved to be their downfall. 'Kavanagh and Vickery will be behind bars for many years to come and now have to pay back more than £1m to the state.' Adrian Foster, chief Crown prosecutor, said: 'Thomas Kavanagh and Gary Vickery are dangerous criminals in the organised gang world, importing millions of pounds worth of dangerous drugs on an industrial scale to the UK. 'This successful £1m Confiscation Order demonstrates the prosecution team's commitment to work across borders to strip organised criminals of their illegal gains. 'We continue to pursue the proceeds of crime robustly and will return them back to court to serve an additional sentence of imprisonment if they fail to pay their orders.' In October 2024, Kavanagh was sentenced to another six years in jail after he and associates plotted to lead NCA officers to a buried stash of 11 weapons in a bid to secure himself a lighter prison sentence for his multimillion-pound drug enterprise. 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 – who fled to Majorca after the events – was jailed for five years while Kent was handed a six-year prison sentence for their roles in the plot.
