Staffordshire man who tried to get sentence reduced by smuggling drugs and ammunition gets further jail term
A Staffordshire man who led an organised crime group in trying to get their prison sentences reduced has been jailed for a further six years.
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Whilst on remand for drug trafficking offences in 2019, Thomas Kavanagh, aged 57, from Tamworth set in motion a series of events he hoped would result in a significant discount to any sentence he was likely to get at the end of his trial.
He sought the assistance of trusted associates Shaun Kent, aged 38, from Liverpool and Liam Byrne, aged 44, originally from Dublin, directing them via a fellow inmate in prison to purchase firearms and ammunition and bury them, so he could reveal their whereabouts to National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators.
Kavanagh's plan was to fool the authorities into believing his assistance was genuine, so he would be rewarded for helping. But after the takedown of the encrypted communication platform Encrochat, the intricate scheme was uncovered.
Over the course of 18 months, at Kavanagh's direction, Kent and Byrne began contacting associates to acquire various weapons and ammunition.
.In April 2021, through Kavanagh's legal representatives, the NCA was provided with a map, leading them to a location near Newry in Northern Ireland.
NCA officers searched the area where two holdalls were found buried just beneath the soil. In those holdalls were 11 machine type weapons and ammunition.
They were then able to work backwards, using the Encrochat messages in their possession, to evidence the conspiracy and Kavanagh's elaborate plan to bury weapons and ammunition.
Kent was arrested in March 2021 at his home address, where officers recovered £5,000 in cash. He was subsequently charged with a number of offences and remanded into custody.
Kavanagh, who had previously been sentenced to 21 years for previous drug trafficking offences, was arrested at HMP Norwich in August 2021.
He and Kent were subsequently charged with firearms offences and perverting the course of justice in August last year.
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 last year , where he was also charged with firearms offences and remanded into custody.
All three admitted the offences at the Central Criminal Court on 18 September. They were sentenced at the same court today (Tuesday).
Kavanagh was sentenced to a further prison sentence of six years to be served consecutively. Byrne received five years in prison and Kent received six years in prison.
NCA Branch Commander Ty Surgeon said: "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 e 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."
