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GUN PLOT BACKFIRE

Caged Kinahan kingpin blasted as ‘rat’ and pals turn on mob boss after cartel arms dump info leak

CAGED kingpin Thomas ‘Bomber’ Kavanagh has been branded a “two-faced hypocrite” over his decision to give up a cartel arms dump.

The claim was made by a mother in his native Crumlin after it emerged yesterday he had given up the location of 11 weapons to secure a reduced prison term.

Kavanagh, 55, was also labelled a rat by users on social media after details of his offer emerged yesterday at Westminster Magistrates Court in London.

But Kavanagh’s plan backfired after the UK’s National Crime Agency went ahead and charged him with a series of firearms offences.

The mother we spoke to was forced to secure a loan to pay off a €2,000 drug debt her son owed Kavanagh’s associates in the south inner city in the middle of the Kinahan-Hutch feud in 2017.

And she was warned if she went to the Gardai her house would be torched.

The mother paid the debt but later moved from the area.

She said: “Bomber Kavanagh’s associates have terrorised the people of the south inner city for decades.

“The money that my son owed was nothing to them but they threatened us with all sorts if we didn’t pay up or went to the guards.

“We were told not to go to the guards and yet here we have the main man himself giving up their weapons.

“He’s nothing more than a hypocrite and it’s clear to see these people only care about themselves.

“Everyone in the Crumlin area is calling him a rat and people have no time for him and his associates anymore.”

On Tuesday, Kavanagh was charged with conspiracy to possess firearms without a certificate, possessing ammunition without a certificate and possession of a “fire bull” firearm as well as a “dum dum” bullet and with conspiring to pervert the course of justice.

Kavanagh listened intently to the charges and sat with his arms folded as the charges were put to him.

FIREARMS SEIZURE

The 11 firearms that he gave up were seized in Newry, Co Down, in May 2021.

The weapons were three handguns, four machine guns, a rifle and three machine pistols.

The Irish Sun previously published images of the weapons.

Although he is currently serving a sentence, he could be hit with another twenty year sentence if convicted of firearms offences.