Driver says he knew nothing about acid killing

A driver accused of taking part in the murder of a drug dealer killed in an acid attack has told a court he knew nothing about the incident.

Brian Kalemba, 23, from London, said he drove Kelvin Asante, 23, also from London, to Plymouth overnight on 18 February 2025 after being offered £250 for the trip.

Danny Cahalane, 38, was attacked at his home on Lipson Road, Plymouth, on 21 February and died in hospital on 3 May. Nine people are on trial at Winchester Crown Court.

Prosecutor Jo Martin KC previously told the jury that Cahalane told police drugs boss Ryan Kennedy was the man behind the attack, to whom he was in "significant debt".

Kalemba, a professional driver, told the court the pair drove to Plymouth overnight in a Renault which Asante said belonged to him.

"I found it strange that we were just going there and back," he told the court. "He did not tell me what the purpose of the drive was. I saw an opportunity to get money, it was straightforward."

He also told the court that he thought he and Asante, from Eresby Place in London, were driving to Portsmouth.

"I believed it was Portsmouth because I had never heard of Plymouth," he told the court.

After arriving in Plymouth, Kalemba said he planned to leave for London on the train.

"Kelvin called me a pussy after I said I'm leaving," he told the court. "I do not know why he was calling me a pussy, I just said I had other things to do."

Martin asked him: "You got to Plymouth and realised there was more to it and it involved assaulting someone with acid?"

"No," said Kalemba.

Kalemba said he was called about a month later by another defendant in the case, Abdulrasheed Adedoja, 23, from London.

By the time of the call, police had arrested a suspect in the case, Israel Augustus, 26, from London, said Martin.

Martin asked him: "He was asking you to keep quiet about everything you knew?"

"No," said Kalemba.

Paris Wilson, 35, and Jude Hill, 43, from Plymouth, Abdulrasheed Adedoja, 23, Israel Augustus, 26, Isanah Sungum, 22, Ramarnee Bakas, 23 and Brian Kalemba, 23, all from London, are charged with murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter.

Wilson, Adedoja, Bakas, Augustus, Sungum and Kalemba have also been charged with being part of an organised crime gang, along with and Arrone Mukuna, 25, and Jean Mukuna, 23 from London.

Adedoja, Bakas, Wilson, Jean Mukuna and Arrone Mukuna are also charged with attempted kidnapping.

The trial continues.

Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk.