Son of Kinahan Crime Figure Pleads Guilty in Firearms Conspiracy

Jack Kavanagh, 24, from Tamworth in England, the son of a prominent member of the Kinahan crime organization, has confessed to his involvement in a scheme designed to direct law enforcement to a concealed cache of firearms. This endeavor aimed to reduce his father’s prison sentence. His father, Thomas Kavanagh, a currently incarcerated individual, masterminded this firearms conspiracy from within his prison cell. Thomas Kavanagh sought to impact his judicial outcome by guiding the National Crime Agency to a collection of weapons interred in a field near Newry, Northern Ireland. On Friday, Jack Kavanagh entered a guilty plea to two counts of conspiracy to possess a firearm and two counts of plotting to possess ammunition. Jack Kavanagh made his court appearance at the Old Bailey via video-link from Belmarsh prison. This occurred 10 days subsequent to his father’s sentencing concerning the identical unsuccessful conspiracy. Thomas Kavanagh, an Irish national, supplied details regarding the firearms to the National Crime Agency (NCA) in May 2021. The NCA was directed to a field in Jerrettspass, County Armagh, where two holdall bags were discovered. These bags contained seven machine guns, three automatic handguns, an assault rifle, and ammunition. Thomas Kavanagh managed the conspiracy from HMP Dovegate, where he was serving a three-year sentence for possessing a stun gun. Additionally, he was being held on remand for significant charges related to a multimillion-pound drug smuggling operation, for which he anticipated a considerably longer prison term. With the objective of lessening his incarceration period, Thomas Kavanagh sought assistance from his son, his brother-in-law, Liam Byrne, 44, from Dublin, and Shaun Kent, 38, an associate of the crime gang boss from Liverpool. This group was brought into the scheme to deceive the NCA with the discovery of weapons. The conspiracy was thwarted after the NCA found incriminating communications on the encrypted EncroChat service, which had been deciphered by French authorities. Thomas Kavanagh was subsequently convicted in the drug smuggling case, receiving a 21-year prison sentence for importing cocaine and cannabis into the UK. Last month, the crime boss was handed an extra six-year prison sentence for the Newry guns plot, which is to run consecutively to his current 21-year term. Byrne received a five-year prison sentence, and Kent was incarcerated for six years. Jack Kavanagh was extradited to the UK last month to face legal proceedings concerning the firearms conspiracy. He had been apprehended by the Spanish National Police at Malaga Airport in May 2023, during a journey from Dubai to Turkey. Subsequent to his guilty plea, the judge at the Old Bailey ordered his remand into custody, with sentencing scheduled for 4 December.