Convicted gang leader from the Kinahan group, Liam Byrne (43), has been delivered a sentence of five years in jail on account of charges related to weaponry, whereas his partner in crime, Thomas Kavanagh (57), has been granted a six-year sentence for the same crimes.
Collectively, they confessed to the crimes involving firearms, with Kavanagh also acknowledging his wrongdoing in disrupting the path of justice.
Their fellow offender, Shaun Kent (38) from Liverpool, was also handed a six-year sentence.
Byrne, a native of Crumlin in Dublin, along with his Dubliner brother-in-law Thomas “Bomber” Kavanagh, conceded to scheming a deception plan to negotiate a lesser sentence for Kavanagh in a separate narcotics-related case.
The allegations evolved from an intricate ploy in 2020 to mislead the National Crime Agency of Britain into assuming Kavanagh’s co-operation, aiming to secure him a lighter sentence connected to an older case of drug trafficking.
The gang surreptitiously stockpiled an assortment of weaponry, such as submachine guns and handguns, and concealed their stash near Newry in the North. It was Kavanagh who, in 2020 and 2021, reached out to the NCA, claiming knowledge of a weapons shipment. He offered a map indicating the location of the firearms, which were gathered for this specific purpose.
In the execution of this scheme, Kavanagh, whilst incarcerated, recruited Kent to convey messages to the rest of their gang members. Their preferred mode of communication was the secure, encrypted service EncroChat, which the law enforcement subsequently penetrated, revealing the plot.
The gang utilized pseudonyms during their chats; Byrne was referred to as ‘Thai Live’ and ‘Gargler’, Kent was known as ‘Firm Cleaner’ and ‘Marcos Cafu’, while Kavanagh was referred to as ‘Big Head’, ‘Pops’ and ‘Our Mate’.
Byrne, who lost his brother David Byrne in a violent conflict at the Regency hotel in Dublin back in 2016, alongside Kent, was involved in the acquisition of weapons and their concealment in Newry, with the assistance of other individuals. Kavanagh had the misconception that by disclosing details about a gun consignment, he could persuade the NCA to inform a judge of his compliance, thus securing a less severe punishment in his narcotics related offences.
But the stratagem backfired when the French authorities successfully infiltrated the EncroChat system and relayed the gang’s communications to the NCA. This led to Kavanagh receiving a sentence of 21 years at a crown court in Ipswich in relation to drug offences.
Kavanagh practically led the Kinahan cartel’s operations in the UK, whereas Byrne steered their operations in the Republic, even though he was classed in court as being subservient to Kavanagh.
The sentencing of Byrne, especially, is viewed as a significant step in the legal proceedings aimed at dismantling the cartel. This came after an intense feud erupted with a rival gang tied to the relatives of Gerry Hutch following the murder of David Byrne. The feud resulted in at least 18 fatalities, with majority of the victims being associated with the Hutch faction, as the Kinahan cartel tried to obliterate its competition.
During the sentencing procceedings, Byrne’s lawyer – Jeremy Dein KC, informed the Old Bailey that his client hadn’t faced prosecution for almost twenty-five years and had recently been distressed due to his father’s death. His brother, David Byrne, was the casualty in the aforementioned Regency shooting in 2016.
Mr Dein mentioned that Liam Byrne worked as a spray painter and had no desire to find himself in a similar predicament in the future. He also disclosed that Byrne hadn’t met two of his children since his incarceration at Belmarsh prison the previous summer.
Byrne’s legal counsel pleaded for the judge to show clemency towards his client, emphasising his intention to lead an honest and upright life post release.