Episode 257: How mob boss Barry Young was busted by 16,000 WhatsApp messages
18 March 2023 - 29 minsMOB boss Barry Young has pleaded guilty to directing a criminal organisation - a charge which can carry up to life imprisonment.
A massive 16,000 text messages taken from WhatsApp were among key evidence against him, which will be heard during sentencing.
But while the 37-year-old Sligo gangster is undoubtedly facing a jail term, is he really just a shrewd businessman who knows that doing porridge is part of the game?
Nicola Tallant chats with Niall Donald about the most-prolific crime boss in the north-east who has carefully built an extensive drug operation on a mixture of cunning and good fortune, but whose luck has finally run out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Series Episodes
The Science of Fear - Borrowed Time (Episode 7)
As Bomber waits in the shadows of his English mansion, a single forgotten logistics document from an Irish raid allows the National Crime Agency to bridge the gap between his legitimate front and his billion-euro drug empire. Meticulous digital forensics begin to peel back the layers of his encrypted secrecy, exposing “The Gaffer” as the cold CEO of a transnational narcotics machine that law enforcement is finally ready to dismantle. The Science of Fear: The Bloody Reign of Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh was originally released as a subscriber-only series in January 2026 on crimeworld.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
44 mins
9 July Finished
The Science of Fear - The Net Tightens (Episode 6)
Bomber’s empire begins to unravel, as an innocuous scrap of paper found in a raid of a weapons-filled industrial unit in Dublin gives international law enforcement a thread to follow in their investigations. Meanwhile, a lavish marriage ceremony in Dubai attracts a lot of attention. The Science of Fear: The Bloody Reign of Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh was originally released as a subscriber-only series in January 2026 on crimeworld.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
31 mins
8 July Finished
The Science of Fear - Blood and War (Episode 5)
The criminal underworld is shattered when gunmen armed with AK-47s storm a Dublin hotel weigh-in, leaving Bomber’s brother-in-law dead and igniting a “psychotic” revenge feud that turns the city into a war zone. Forced out of the shadows, Bomber stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Daniel Kinahan at a military-style funeral, a public show of defiance that finally earns him and the gang the undivided attention of international law enforcement. The Science of Fear: The Bloody Reign of Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh was originally released as a subscriber-only series in January 2026 on crimeworld.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
34 mins
8 July Finished
The Science of Fear - Bomber’s Boom Years (Episode 4)
In the “champagne years” of the international drug trade, Bomber emerges as a global power-broker, helping Daniel Kinahan forge a lethal “Super Cartel” alliance with Dutch and Italian kingpins to dominate the European cocaine market. Amidst a backdrop of first-class flights and fortified mansions, he earns the nickname “Santa” for his flash displays of wealth, even as murder and violence underpin his reign. The Science of Fear: The Bloody Reign of Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh was originally released as a subscriber-only series in January 2026 on crimeworld.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
34 mins
7 July Finished
The Science of Fear - Hidden Empire (Episode 3)
In the quiet Staffordshire town of Tamworth, Thomas ‘Bomber’ Kavanagh established a deceptive front as a car dealer and built a sophisticated, international logistics hub for the Kinahan organisation. Utilising “Trojan horse” concealments in industrial machinery to smuggle millions in narcotics, he maintained absolute control through a cold “science of fear” that terrorised subordinates and ensured his status as a global underworld tycoon. The Science of Fear: The Bloody Reign of Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh was originally released as a subscriber-only series in January 2026 on crimeworld.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
29 mins
7 July Finished
The Science of Fear - Modern Irish Gangster (Episode 2)
Rising through the ranks of a drug-fuelled Dublin in the 1990s, Kavanagh weaponised fear and forged a deadly alliance with the notorious Byrne crime dynasty to dominate the city’s exploding cocaine market. As he became the historic first target of the Criminal Assets Bureau, a campaign of savage witness intimidation and extreme violence eventually forced Bomber to flee Ireland and expand his operations across the Irish sea. The Science of Fear: The Bloody Reign of Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh was originally released as a subscriber-only series in January 2026 on crimeworld.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
25 mins
6 July Finished
