Senior Kinahan cartel associate jailed for 21 years
A man described as being “at the head of” the Kinahan cartel and responsible for smuggling cocaine and cannabis into the UK hidden inside items of machinery has been jailed for 21 years.
The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) estimates that the group imported drugs with a street value of more than £30 million (€35 million) into the UK.
Judge Martyn Levett, sentencing at Ipswich Crown Court, said the operation was of a “commercial scale” and that he had “no doubt that the successful importations would have continued” were it not for the authorities intercepting a shipment at Dover in 2017.
Thomas Kavanagh, 54, of Tamworth, Staffordshire; Gary Vickery, 39, of Solihull; and 43-year-old Daniel Canning, who also has an address in Solihull, all admitted at an earlier hearing to conspiring to import class A and B drugs, and money laundering.
Kavanagh, who prosecutors described as “at the head of the organisation”, was jailed for 21 years.
Dublin Airport warns of delays
Dublin Airport has advised passengers to expect lengthy queues in the coming days and week due to staffing issues.
Dublin Airport said it was still trying to bounce back from the impact of the pandemic, as some passengers used social media to complain about long queues and lengthy waiting times at security.
A spokesman for Dublin Airport said staff were trying to “ramp up” the service, but returning to full capacity after Covid-19 would take time.
The airport spokesman said that more than 100 new security staff were recruited since the start of the year.
House prices see 8.4% yearly rise
House prices have risen by 2.4 per cent since the year began, according to a report.
A study by property website Daft.ie shows prices continue to go in an upward trajectory across the country, with the average price of a home nationwide now just over €299,000 in the first quarter of the year – an 8.4 per cent increase on the same period last year.
The report shows that the average price nationwide is only 19 per cent below the peak seen in Ireland during the Celtic Tiger.
