Oanne Byrne and Nicola Connor have lived a life of privilege in huge homes, private holiday villas and even on a luxury boat used in a James Bond movie. If they ever wondered where it all came from and if their collaborators Thomas ‘Bomber’ Kavanagh and Gary Vickery had convinced them that they had made millions by flogging used cars, they could no longer have any illusions. they had flown their nests. Twenty-three shipments of drugs, one of which contained more than 3 3 million (€ 3.6 million) worth of cocaine and cannabis imported from Europe, is what the UK National Crime Agency (NCA) believes was the real thing. source of their wealth. A complex import-export system – which involved the smuggling of drugs into specially reinforced machines – was unveiled at Ipswich Crown Court as women and their children watched from a public gallery. Details of the huge money, huge quantities of cocaine and cannabis and the intricate setting up of shadow businesses painted the picture of an extremely sophisticated criminal gang beginning, Kavanagh told the court, with Vickery as his second commander. Framed by their children, the first and second wives sat proudly to support their spouses in court as they face huge prison sentences. The two arrived groomed and sat together outside Court 2 as they prepared for the long-awaited hearing of the sentence for the duo and co-accused Daniel Canning.

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Joanne Byrne, wife of Thomas “Bomber” Kavanagh. Photo by MCNpics Joanne Byrne, wife of Thomas “Bomber” Kavanagh. Photo by MCNpics All three will find out their fate tomorrow, with the proceeds of the crime investigation certain to follow as the lifestyle of the Kavanagh and Vickery families comes under the microscope.

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Nicola Connor, wife of Gary Vickery. Photo by MCNpics Nicola Connor, wife of Gary Vickery. Photo by MCNpics There are cottages, investment properties, cars, jewelry and much more for the police to put on with a fine-toothed comb. Joanne Byrne, a sister of Liam and David Byrne – whose murder sparked a murder reaction at the Regency Hotel in Dublin – married “Bomber” when she was just starting out playing drugs at home. The couple left Ireland after the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) took the mediocre Drimnagh into their home in one of the first cases since its inception in 1996. Together, they moved to Birmingham, first to White Sands Road and later to Tamworth, where they raised their family in a huge fenced mansion with his and Range Rovers. They spent their holidays in Mexico, Dubai and their holiday home in Mallorca, where they partied with Bomber’s associates from Dublin. Joanne spent her 40th birthday in Las Vegas with a huge group of friends, whose vacation was first class all the way and was paid for by “Bomber”. Nikola also knows how to enjoy money. He lived in a huge villa in Lanzarote with a swimming pool and runs a holiday rental property, which will now be investigated for ownership.

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The home of Thomas ‘Bomber’ Kavanagh and his wife Joanne Byrne in Tamworth, near Birmingham The house of Thomas ‘Bomber’ Kavanagh and his wife Joanne Byrne in Tamworth, near Birmingham …