Smartly dressed Kelvin Asante is shown boarding ferry in north Wales after Plymouth incident
Police in Lipson Road after acid attack
A jury was shown a video of one of the people accused of the murder of a Plymouth father as he left the country, travelling by ferry from north Wales to Ireland.
The short clips showed Kelvin Asante – who is alleged to have thrown the acid over Danny Cahalane at his home in Lipson Road, Plymouth, but who is set to stand trial later this year – wearing smart clothing, including a shirt and tie, as he walked through the terminals with a suitcase and bag.
The trial of ten people – seven men from London and three women from Plymouth – continued today (February 5) at Winchester Crown Court. Seven of the ten are accused of 38-year-old Danny Cahalane’s murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter.
Lead prosecutor Joanna Martin KC previously told the jury that Danny – who died on May 3, 2025 following an attack on his home in Lipson Road, Plymouth in the early hours of February 21, 2025 – was a “drug dealer in Plymouth who owed a large amount of money to another drug dealer further up the chain of command”.
Personal trainer Danny admitted to police he had also gambled with the profits, including money which was meant to have gone to a drugs boss, named in court as Ryan Kennedy, also known as ‘Frost’. The court has previously been told that Frost, from London, is believed to currently be in Dubai.
(Image: Google Street View)
The jury were shown that the clip of Asante striding through the Holyhead ferry terminal on February 23 at 9am – just two day after the incident in Plymouth. In the short clip he can be seen, dressed in black, with a white shirt and a dark tie, wheeling a small four-wheel suitcase and a carry-on bag.
The next clip the jury were shown was captured at around 3pm which showed passengers at the baggage area of Dublin ferry terminal collecting bags from the carousel. Asante appears and walks towards the carousel, followed by a woman wearing a fluorescent jacket bearing the word Garda – the Irish police.
They appear to be in conversation as he awaits his suitcase and carry-on bag to appear. After snatching up the carry-on bag he immediately began to rifle through a pocket and can be seen handing over what appears to be his passport to the Garda officer. As she opens it up and examines a couple of pages, Asante is seen smiling and chatting throughout the exchange, and the officer then walks off, seemingly satisfied.
Asante then grabs his suitcase from the carousel, latches his carry-on bag to the suitcase handle and wheels it away, out of the terminal.
Ms Martin KC notes evidence secured by detectives that a short while later Asante received payment from another of the accused, Abdulrasheed Adedoja and at around 6pm the same day he arrived at the four-star Skylon Hotel in Drumcondra Road, north Dublin.
(Image: Google Street View)
Before, during and after Asante leaves North Wales and arrives at the hotel there are a series of phone calls between a number of those on trial at Winchester Crown Court.
The jury are told that a short while later Ramarnee Bakas Sithole is accessing a number of websites including another hotel site, including Booking.com where he is searching for “hotels in Dublin”.
Ms Martin KC, with the assistance of Det Sgt Ed Carr in the witness box, highlight a series of calls, messages and contacts between Bakas and Adedoja, as well as the brothers Jean and Arrone Mukuna.
On February 27, at around 4.40pm Asante is booked on a flight from Dublin airport to JFK airport in New York, USA by Aer Lingus. But at 8.50pm the same day Asante is also booked onto a flight from Dublin to Dubai – where drug boss Ryan Kennedy is believed to be based.
The following morning, at 9.30am, Asante is booked onto a flight for Bangkok, Thailand – where Jude Hill, another of the accused, was believed to have been at the time of the attack on Danny Cahalane.
The jury heard that a few days later, on March 3, Israel Augustus – who is alleged to have taken part with Asante on the attack on Danny at his home in Lipson Road – was arrested.
Israel Augustus – accused of acid attack in Lipson Road, arriving at Plymouth Magistrates’ Court on Saturday March 8, 2025(Image: Carl Eve/PlymouthLive)
The jury were told that two days later, at around 11.30am, Adedoja’s phone attempts to call Augustus, obviously without success. The jury are shown records which suggests Adedoja then attempts to get hold of Bakas by phone and then Baka calls Arrone Mukuna, Adedoja and Jean Mukuna.
On March 7 Bakas’ phone is again found to have visited the skyscanner.com website – which advertises itself as offering cheap flights and hotels.
The jury were told that on March 13, Paris Wilson was arrested and later released on police bail. Again there are series of contacts between the Mukuna brothers, Adedoja and Bakas over the next three days, with Bakas again checking the skyscanner.com website on March 15.
The jury were told that on March 16, Bakas Apple wallet records a Easyjet boarding pass and a few minutes later the same phone records a Ryan Air boarding pass. Two days later, on March 18 Bakas’ phone again visits the skyscanner.com website.
Arrone Mukuna, aged 24, of Werrington Street, London appearing at Plymouth Magistrates’ Court(Image: Carl Eve/PlymouthLive)
Later on the afternoon of March 18 there is a group call involving phones linked to Jean Mukuna, Arrone Mukuna, Adedoja and Bakas which lasts one hour, one minute and 56 seconds. During this course of this call there are continued messaging between Bakas and Arrone Mukuna and Adedoja.
The jury hear that on April 10 police carry out a series of raids in London and arrest Adedoja, Bakas,Isanah Sungum, Brian Kalemba, Jean and Arrone Mukuna as well as Jenna Said [also known as O’Grady].
On April 23, Paris Wilson was arrested for a second time.
Paris Wilson attending Plymouth Magistrates’ Court on April 24, 2025(Image: Carl Eve/PlymouthLive)
Ms Martin KC read out a series of agreed facts regarding Ryan Kennedy to the jury. This included an image they had been shown as part of their evidence bundle earlier in the trial had been confirmed as Kennedy by an officer who arrested him in 2024.
The court heard that Kennedy was born on September 7, 1999, making him just 25 at the time of the attack on Danny Cahalane in Plymouth.
The jury were told of Kennedy’s previous convictions between 2015 and 2020 in the UK which included one conviction for two offences of possession of a bladed article – both committed on October 24, 2015. He also had convictions for theft, possession of cannabis, burglary, a conviction for escaping from lawful custody and one conviction for an offence under the Public Order Act.
Ms Martin KC told the jury that as of today [February 5] Kennedy “remains under police investigation in relation to an offence of being concerned in an offer to supply drugs”. They heard that this offence was allegedly committed in June 2020.
The jury were also informed that Kennedy was arrested with Danny Cahalane and Paul Ampomah – referred to as Size during the course of this trial – on February 2, 2024 in Plymouth.
The jury heard that no further action was taken by police following the arrest.
A total of 10 defendants – seven men from London and three women from Plymouth – are on trial, with seven of these accused of Mr Cahalane’s murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter, on May 3, 2025.
They are Paris Wilson, 35, of The Quay, Plymouth; Jude Hill, 43, of Wantage Gardens, Plymouth; Abdulrasheed Adedoja, 23, of Neasden, London; Ramarnee Bakas-Sithole, 23, of Islington, London; Israel Augustus, aged 26, of Tottenham, London; Isanah Sungum, 22, of Edmonton, London; and Brian Kalemba, 23, of Barking, London.
Five of the defendants are charged with the attempted kidnapping and attempted grievous bodily harm of Mr Cahalane on January 19 2025, at The Quay in Oreston, Plymouth. They are Adedoja, Bakas-Sithole and Wilson, along with Jean Mukuna, 23, and Arrone Mukuna, 25, both of Camden, London.
All ten deny the charges.
The trial continues
