A Kinahan drug smuggler who was refusing to attend his sentencing hearing in Britain claiming he feared catching Covid-19 has been arrested in Spain.
Dubliner Gary Vickery, 38, pleaded guilty in a UK court in June 2020 to conspiring to import over £23million worth of drugs and to laundering cash for the organised crime group.
His co-accused, top Kinahan boss Thomas ‘Bomber’ Kavanagh, 52, and another Irishman Daniel Canning, 41, also admitted the same offence.
Kavanagh, a brother-in-law of Regency Hotel victim David Byrne, was formerly the cartel’s top man in Britain and is serving a three-year jail term for being caught with a stun gun disguised as a torch at his luxury home.
Their sentencing at Ipswich Crown Court has been repeatedly adjourned because Vickery failed to return to England from the Canaries.
After the latest no-show when he claimed he again could not travel because he could not get a Covid-19 test, a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Vickery was arrested on Wednesday in a bar in the town of Yaiza on the island of Lanzarote by Spain’s Guardia Civil .
He appeared in a Spanish court yesterday morning ahead of his expected extradition back to the UK to face sentencing.
Matt Horne from the UK’s National Crime Agency, which worked together with gardai to bring Kavanagh, Vickery and Canning down, said: “Vickery was given ample opportunity to return to the UK following his guilty plea, but has failed to come back on every occasion.
“We will ensure those who cause harm to the UK though organised crime are held accountable, and this case highlights our tenacity.
“I’d like to thank the NCA officers here in the UK, and our international liaison team in Spain, who have worked closely with colleagues in the Guardia Civil to locate Vickery.”
