extradition | 

Alleged Kinahan gangster Jack Kavanagh turns to controversial lawyer jailed over ETA kidnap

Thomas ‘Bomber’ Kavanagh’s son has turned to Gonzalo Boye in an attempt to thwart Britain’s attempts to put him on trial for weapons charges

Today at 14:54

Suspected Kinahan gang member Jack Kavanagh is trying to stop his extradition to the UK with the expert help of an alleged money launderer jailed for 14 years for assisting an ETA kidnap.

Thomas ‘Bomber’ Kavanagh’s son has turned to controversial lawyer Gonzalo Boye to attempt to thwart Britain’s attempts to put him on trial for weapons charges.

The Chilean-born 58-year-old qualified as a lawyer while he was still behind bars for helping terror group ETA kidnap Spanish businessman Emiliano Revilla by monitoring his movements.

Revilla, a former mayor of the northern Spanish town of Olvega, was kept hostage for 249 days by his captors before being released on October 30 1988 after his family paid a $12 million ransom demand.

Boye, who has always maintained his innocence, was released in 2002 less than halfway through his prison sentence.

But he is now facing a new trial at the Audiencia Nacional court where last Tuesday he argued Kavanagh’s extradition should not go ahead at an appeal hearing after the 22-year-old refused to be extradited shortly after his May 30 Malaga Airport arrest on an international warrant.

State prosecutors have demanded a nine-year, nine-month prison sentence for Mr Boye if he is convicted of money laundering and forgery.

He is due to stand trial alongside defendants that include a notorious Spanish drug baron called Jose Ramon Prado Bugallo, better known as Sito Minanco. Mr Boye, who is insisting he has done nothing wrong, is accused of helping Minanco launder money from the proceeds of crime.

The pair were charged after a police operation which led to more than 40 arrests and the seizure of more than four tonnes of cocaine and real estate assets worth €15 million.

Mr Boye has claimed he is being targeted because his clients include fugitive Catalan independence leader Carles Puigdemont and other pro-independence politicians like Laura Borras who is the former president of the Catalan regional Parliament.

Borras reacted to the news in July the controversial lawyer would be put on trial by writing on X, formerly Twitter: ‘Solidarity with Boye’ after accusing the authorities of dirty tricks to take out its opponents.

Yesterday it emerged alleged Kinahan mobster Liam Byrne, who is being defended by a different lawyer trying to stop the UK authorities extraditing him and putting him on trial alongside Kavanagh, is claiming his extradition request should be rejected because he risks “inhumane and degrading treatment” in a British prison.

The extraordinary claim is one of the key arguments extradition expert Jaime Campaner is using to persuade a Spanish court to refuse Britain’s request to hand him over.

Spanish criminal lawyer Mr Campaner is alleging there is a “real risk” Byrne’s fundamental right to physical and moral integrity will be in danger if his forced return goes ahead.

And he is also claiming the approval of the Irishman’s extradition would also violate his human rights because the only evidence against him are hacked messages on encrypted communications network Encroch.

Mr Boye is believed to be using some of the same arguments to try to prevent his client’s extradition to the UK.

State prosecutors formally backed the extradition of both Kavanagh and Byrne in the men’s separate appeal hearings last week.

Bryne, 42, was held after flying to Majorca for a family holiday from his hideout in Dubai.

He said he was opposing his forced return to Britain at an initial hearing less than 48 hours after his arrest, paving the way for last week’s appeal hearing.

Britain’s National Crime Agency revealed Jack Kavanagh had been held days earlier when it confirmed Liam Byrne, whose brother David was shot dead in the February 2016 Regency Hotel attack in Dublin, was in custody.

The NCA says both men were part of a plot spearheaded by Jack’s dad Thomas ‘Bomber’ Kavanagh to plant arms in the North and direct authorities to find them so he could get a reduced sentence on drug charges he was facing.

Jack’s father was a key figure in the Kinahan Cartel until his recent conviction for drugs and money-laundering offences resulted in him getting a 21-year jail sentence.

Byrne is said to have taken over from Bomber Kavanagh.

Thomas Kavanagh declined to enter a plea earlier this month when he appeared by video in the Central Criminal Court in the Old Bailey accused of conspiring to set up a discovery of arms and ammunition in a bid to get a reduced jail sentence.

Judge Alexia Duran remanded the case until 8 January for another management hearing. A provisional trial date was for 2 September 2024.

Jack Kavanagh’s appeal against the UK extradition request was initially due to go ahead on September 11 before it was suspended following a no-show by his lawyer.

Spanish state prosecutors had laid out their case for his extradition in a six-page document presented to the Audiencia Nacional before the suspended hearing.

It alleged he used the Encrochat encrypted communications network with the aliases ‘thilive’ until April 23 2020 and ‘basilbagner’ to participate in criminal activities.

Kay Mellor, Regional Head of Investigations at the NCA said in June after the arrests of Byrne and Jack Kavanagh: “This investigation is part of the NCA’s ongoing work targeting the Kinahan crime group.

“Liam Byrne and Jack Kavanagh have been evading justice for a number of years, but have now been arrested in relation to serious firearms offences.

“We have an excellent relationship with the Spanish National Police and will continue to work closely with our international partners to ensure those who think they can stay under the radar have no place to hide.”

Mr Boye has been contacted for comment.