Kinahan cartel crime boss ordered to pay back £1.1m

The UK boss of the notorious Kinahan crime empire has been ordered to pay back more than £1.1m - or face another 12 years in jail.

Thomas "Bomber" Kavanagh, 57, was jailed for 21 years in March 2022 for masterminding a £30m cocaine and cannabis smuggling operation.

He was last year jailed for another six years after orchestrating a plot while on remand to dupe authorities into handing him a lighter sentence by leading National Crime Agency officers to a weapons stash.

Kavanagh is believed to have made around £12.2m from the drugs plot but has been ordered to pay back £1,123,097 in recoverable assets withing three months or face 12 more years in prison.

The figure includes a 50% share of his gated property in Tamworth, Staffordshire, which had reinforced doors and bulletproof glass.

It also includes money from the sale of other UK properties and a villa in Spain, as well as £150,000 worth of high-end bags, clothes and accessories.

Another high-ranking member of the gang, Gary Vickery, 43, who was jailed for 20 years over the drugs plot, was ordered to pay back almost £110,000 or face another two years in jail.

At previous hearings at Ipswich Crown Court he was ordered to forfeit an Audemars Piguet watch worth £75,000 and more than 100,000 euros.

The NCA have described Kavanagh as the "top man" in the UK for the Irish Kinahan cartel, which has been ranked alongside the Italian mafia with estimated assets worth more than $1bn (around £800m).

Christy Kinahan, 68, known as the "Dapper Don" is suspected of building a sprawling international drug empire, stretching across South America, Europe and the Middle East, and allegedly groomed his sons Daniel and Christy Jr to become fellow leaders.

In April 2022, the US government offered a $5m (£3.8m) reward for information leading to their arrest or conviction.

The US Treasury also said the group has "joined the ranks of the Camorra", an Italian mafia organisation, as they imposed sanctions on the cartel.

Kay Mellor, NCA head of operations HQ, 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."

Adrian Foster, chief Crown prosecutor, said described the pair as "dangerous criminals in the organised gang world", responsible for importing millions of pounds worth of drugs on an "industrial scale".

"This successful £1m confiscation order demonstrates the prosecution team's commitment to work across borders to strip organised criminals of their illegal gains," he added.