Two men, including the son of crime boss Thomas ‘Bomber’ Kavanagh, who were involved in a plot to plant firearms and ammunition in a bid to reduce the crime boss’s prison term, have been sentenced following a National Crime Agency investigation.
Jack Kavanagh, 24, from Tamworth, was extradited to the UK from Spain after his arrest in May 2023 at Malaga Airport by officers from the Spanish National Police as he was transiting from Dubai to Turkey.
In November, he was escorted back to the UK by a team of officers from the NCA’s Joint International Crime Centre.
Peter Keating, 43, from Dublin, Ireland, was extradited to the UK from Dublin in November to face charges of conspiracy to possess and transfer firearms and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. He is already serving a prison sentence in Ireland.
Both Kavanagh and Keating were part of a trusted group that obtained guns and ammunition while Kavanagh’s dad, Thomas, was on remand for drug offences.
Over 18 months, the men worked with Shaun Kent and Liam Byrne using the encrypted messaging platform Encrochat to source the deadly haul. They hoped that by burying the weapons in the countryside in Newry, Northern Ireland, Thomas Kavanagh would be able to lead officers to them and negotiate a lesser sentence for his crimes.
In reality, NCA officers had seen their Encrochat conversations and uncovered each man’s role in the conspiracy.
Jack used the handle ‘BasilBadger’ and ‘ThiLive’ and had numerous conversations with Liam Byrne and Shaun Kent to obtain firearms for use in the conspiracy and was referred to as ‘Junior’ in other chats between the two.
In one message, Jack indicates the urgency of obtaining the guns due to his dad being in prison: “Pressure in there is another level, 23 hours a day and can’t even get on the basher himself. And then waiting on this court date and then waiting on these other yokes [guns]. Madness’.
In other messages, he asks, ‘What’s d crack wit them other things [firearms] coming’ and that ‘he [Thomas] requires everything ready once this virus f***** off’, and announces a ‘big change of plan’ to get 14 weapons through two contacts and that ‘he [Thomas] wants them passed by this time next week’.
Peter Keating
Keating is seen in messages planning how the guns will move through a third party. In one he states: “My man is not going to drive up am empty motorway during a lockdown in middle of a pandemic at 5am in the morning. He always done it his own way your pop knows this. So he won’t change his way now. Its served him so well so far no problems.”
In another, Kent is messaging Keating telling him that Mick, a nickname for Thomas Kavanagh, is saying ‘time’s running out for him, needs [firearms] ASAP’ and Keating tells Kavanagh: ‘I’m doing all I can mate if I had someone to drive them [the weapons] any were I’d have got this all done weeks ago and be off my head stress off it all.’
The plans continued until April 2021, when Thomas Kavanagh’s legal representatives provided the NCA with a location map in Newry, Northern Ireland.
The location was searched with assistance from Police Service of Northern Ireland officers, who discovered two holdalls covered in some soil and debris. The holdalls were opened, and 11 machine-type weapons and ammunition were recovered. Officers then linked Kavanagh, Keating and other defendants to evidence of the elaborate conspiracy.
Shaun Kent was arrested in March 2021 at his home address. Thomas Kavanagh, who had 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 2023.
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 2023, where he was also charged with firearms offences and remanded into custody.
Following Jack’s return to the UK, he was remanded into custody after a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to all offences on 1 November 2024.
Keating appeared at the Old Bailey Tuesday, where he pleaded guilty to all offences.
Today, Jack Kavanagh was sentenced to three years and one month, and Keating received a sentence of four years and eight months, which will be served in Ireland alongside the sentence he is currently serving.
Thomas Kavanagh was sentenced to a further six years in prison, Byrne received five years in prison, and Kent received six years in prison when they were sentenced in October.
Craig Turner, Deputy Director of Investigations at the National Crime Agency, said, “Kavanagh and Keating were a central part of this plot to deceive us in a bid to reduce the lengthy sentence Kavanagh’s father was facing for drug offences.
“Their messages showed they were involved in much of the logistics of the plan to obtain the firearms, all of which were viable deadly weapons. While Jack attempted to evade justice by fleeing abroad, our global reach and close working with international partners saw him returned to the UK and now starting a lengthy prison sentence.”
