Former boxing promoter Mario Rea, 47, has been jailed for six years at the High Court in Glasgow for his role as a trusted lieutenant in gangland killer Robert "Birdman" O'Hara's crime mob. Rea pleaded guilty to two charges of serious organised crime and one under the Proceeds of Crime Act, admitting he facilitated the lavish lifestyles of O'Hara's partner Michelle Maxwell and daughter Kendal O'Hara using proceeds from a major narcotics operation.
Operation Gadget and the Scale of the Criminal Enterprise
The gang was uncovered during a large-scale police investigation codenamed Operation Gadget, which initially focused on another crew member, David "Murfy" Hough. Police seized a huge haul of class A drugs, firearms, grenades, ammunition, and an industrial pill press capable of producing hundreds of thousands of street Valium tablets. Prosecutor Alex Prentice KC explained that O'Hara, despite being imprisoned since 2004 for the 2005 murder of Paul McDowall in Glasgow's Possilpark, was the principal of the crime group. He directed operations from behind bars using illicit phones, exchanging texts and photos with associates.
Prentice stated: "During investigations, it became clear that Robert O'Hara was the principal of the crime group despite being in prison since 2004. Additional inquiries revealed that his family - in particular his long-term partner Michelle Maxwell and his daughter Kendal O'Hara - were living a very desirable lifestyle. This included living in expensive houses, driving supercars, purchasing and owning designer clothes and jewellery, which was being paid for by Robert O'Hara's criminal funds."
Rea's Role in Facilitating a Luxurious Lifestyle
Rea used dirty money to arrange for Maxwell and Kendal O'Hara to stay in a £5,000-a-month townhouse in Glasgow's Claremont Terrace and a high-end flat in Park Circus, all under false pretences. O'Hara once became furious when Rea failed to pay the rent, threatening: "See if my family are papped out, there will be no talking. There will be no nothing, mate. We will be falling out over this." The gang's cash flow was so immense that O'Hara sought to buy a £225,000 Lamborghini Huracan and sent his partner 71 links to properties on Rightmove, including a £525,000 flat in Glasgow's Kelvinside and a £635,000 house in Aberfoyle, Stirlingshire.
Beyond managing O'Hara's family's expenses, Rea exchanged messages about organising drug sales and purchases, provided and received criminal money, and concealed, converted, and transferred £79,760 through his bank account. He was also linked to another investigation, Operation Dorrigo, involving over £2 million worth of cocaine, heroin, and cannabis trafficking in Scotland and England.
Sentencing and Judicial Remarks
Defence lawyer Jim Keegan KC argued that Rea became involved with the crime mob and that "the consequences of entering the group were inevitable." Sentencing Rea, Lord Arthurson said: "Your position appears to be that you were acting for a criminal principal against your will and could not see any way out the situation. Nevertheless, you acted for an organised crime group assisting the principal, in particular you facilitated the lifestyles of family members of him." The judge added that Rea was involved in drug trafficking on an "industrial scale."
O'Hara was sentenced to nine years in March 2025 after pleading guilty to directing serious organised crime. Hough and William Pollock, 35, were separately jailed for three years each for their roles. Hough was already serving a six-year sentence from 2021 after a raid on a street Valium factory in Renfrewshire and the discovery of guns, ammunition, and hand grenades at a Glasgow safe house. Pollock faced a four-year serious crime prevention order, known as a super-Asbo, designed to monitor offenders after release. A reporting ban on identifying Rea, Hough, and Pollock was lifted only after all three admitted their guilt.
