The head of the Kinahan Organised Crime Group in the UK, who presided over the importation of over €36 million worth of cocaine and cannabis in a year, has been sentenced to 21 years in prison.
Thomas Kavanagh, aged 54, who is originally from Dublin but lives in Tamworth in the UK, was sentenced today along with two other Kinahan gang members for drug trafficking and money laundering.
43-year-old Daniel Canning, who is also from Dublin was sentenced to 19 and-a-half years, while his 39-year-old brother-in-law Gary Vickery received a 20-year sentence.
Canning was also caught with a handgun and ammunition.
The gang hid the drugs in industrial machinery which was used at least 23 times to smuggle the drugs in and the cash back out.
The cocaine and cannabis were destined for Ireland and the UK.
Judge Martyn Levett said all three Irish men had a leading role in the organised crime group.
There was, he said, a significant amount of organisation in the drugs importation, a skillful use of documentation to conceal it, each man had very close links with the source of the cannabis and cocaine, and a business was being used as a cover.
The judge also said companies registered with Company's House never traded and he had no doubt that the drugs importation business for which the men "gained vast profits" would have continued had they not been caught.
Afterwards, the Deputy Director of the National Crime Agency said they had dismantled the Kinahan organised crime group's operation in the UK and that while they thought they were "untouchable", "this is not the case".
Matt Horne also said the proceeds of crime investigation into the Kinahan gang's assets and finances was continuing.
The judge said all three men could be released on licence after serving half their sentences which means Kavanagh will not be released from prison until he is 65 years of age.
He also directed the men disclose any assets they have anywhere in the world.
Watch footage of Thomas Kavanagh's arrest (below)
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'A very positive development'
Gardaí described the jailing of the three Kinahan gang members as "a very positive development".
The Assistant Commissioner in charge of the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau said the successful outcome reflects the efforts made by international law enforcement authorities to tackle transnational organised crime groups.
John O'Driscoll said these gangs have an international dimension through the sale of drugs and other crimes which have a negative impact on communities across the globe.
He also said gardaí had forged a very powerful working relationship with the UK's National Crime Agency to better protect communities from organised crime.
