‘WhatsApp for criminals’: Court hears of Kinahan cartel’s use of encrypted messages

Liam Byrne (43), a leading member of the Kinahan crime cartel, told other members of the gang he could source Glock pistols for £3,500 (€4,200) each, according to intercepted messages read out in the Old Bailey courthouse in London on Monday.
He used the handle “Thai Live” on the encrypted messaging system EncroChat, which the court heard was the “go to” service for gangs and operated like “WhatsApp for criminals”.
Byrne, from Crumlin in Dublin, and other gang members used EncroChat in 2020 to orchestrate a ruse to try to get his brother-in-law, Thomas “Bomber” Kavanagh (57), a reduced sentence in a UK drugs case, by assembling a cache of weapons and then tipping off British police about its location.
The plan was foiled, however, when French police cracked the EncroChat system and messages revealed the weapons find was a “put up job” designed to help Kavanagh appear co-operative.
A slew of EncroChat exchanges were read out at Monday’s sentencing hearing for Byrne, Kavanagh and Liverpool gangster Shaun Kent (38). All pleaded guilty to weapons charges, while Kavanagh and Kent also admitted perverting the course of justice.
Most of the intercepted messages were sent in April and May of 2020 when Kavanagh, known to the other gang members as “Big Head”, “Pops” and “Our Mate”, was orchestrating the plan from behind bars.
He sent instructions via another prisoner to Kent on the outside, who relayed them to Byrne and others as the gang sought to assemble guns. Byrne, who was based in Britain, and Kent were “subordinate” to Kavanagh, prosecutors said.
Byrne told other gang members he was looking into acquiring “40 big ones”, a reference to guns. Kent, who used the handles “Firm Cleaner” and “Marcos Cafu”, told him: “Try and get as many as you can. It’s the only chance he’s [Kavanagh] got of getting a good result out of [the UK drugs case].”
Byrne, also known as “Gargler” by other gang members, approached a Liverpool gangster who used the handle “Tabuki” to ask about Glocks. “What other big stuff does your mate have?” he was asked by another gang member.
Kent paid another criminal £14,000 for three guns, and told Byrne afterwards he could source another five. He said his supplier was “using a kid to deliver the arms”.
When the news of the purchase reached Byrne, he replied: “Deadly mate, fair play. They will add up nicely.” However, the three guns Kent bought turned out to be fake, plastic weapons.
Byrne discussed with another criminal the potential £86,000 purchase of “20 small yokes”. He told another criminal that he “may also take that MP5″ a reference to a machine gun that had been offered. The gang members also discussed buying rocket-propelled grenades and C4 explosives.
At one stage, Kavanagh grew frustrated with the slow pace of the plot, which had been disrupted by Covid lockdowns, and Kent relayed a message that Kavanagh would “crack heads”. The hearing continues on Tuesday, when Judge Philip Katz will sentence the three men.