Danny Cahalane: Six charged with murder after acid attack
Six people have been charged with murder after a man was killed in an acid attack in his Plymouth home.Danny Cahalane, 38, was attacked on Lipson Road in the city on 21 February and died in hospital on 3 May, Devon and Cornwall Police said.Those charged are Israel Augustus, 25, Abdul-Rasheed Adedoja, 22, Ramarnee Bakas-Sithole, 22, Brian Kalemba, 22, Isanah Sungum, 21, all of London, and Paris Wilson, 34, of Plymouth.They are due to appear at Plymouth Magistrates' Court on Tuesday 3 June.
Speaking after Mr Cahalane's death, his family said in a tribute: "As a family, we are struggling to come to terms with Danny's passing."Danny was an outstanding father and son. Danny and his mum had so much love for each other."He is well loved by his family and friends and as a family we cherish his love and memories."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
16 minutes ago
- BBC News
Danny Cahalane: Nine in court after fatal acid attack in Plymouth
Nine people have appeared in Plymouth Crown Court in connection with the murder of a 38-year-old man from Cahalane was taken to hospital on 21 February following a serious assault involving acid on Lipson Road. He died in hospital three months later on 3 nine defendants have been charged with involvement in an organised crime group which was supplying drugs or storing drugs. It is also alleged the group was involved the enforcement of drug debts through of the defendants, five men, all in their 20s and from London, and a 34-year-old woman from Plymouth have been charged with murder. Three of the accused pleaded not guilty. The nine defendants include seven men in their 20s from London, and two women in their 30s from of the nine defendants pleaded not guilty to involvement in an organised crime group: Paris Wilson, 34, of The Quay, PlymouthJenna Said, 38, of Ernesettle Green, PlymouthIsrael Augustus, 25, of Pulford Road, LondonIsanah Sungum, 21 of Sterling Way, LondonJean Mukuna, 23, from Werrington Street, LondonArrone Mukuna, 24, of Werrington Street, LondonThe remaining three from London, Brian Kalemba, 22, of Eastbury Square, Abdul-Rasheed Adedoja, 22, of North Circular Road and Ramarnee Bakas-Sithole, 22, of Junction Road are yet to be asked to enter Augustus, Mr Adedoja, Mr Bakas-Sithole, Kalemba and Mr Sungum all from London, and Ms Wilson of Plymouth, have been charged with the six, Ms Wilson, Mr Sungum and Mr Augustus pleaded not guilty. The remaining three had yet to be asked to enter defendants have been remanded in custody, while one has been remanded on conditional bail.A trial is due to take place at Winchester Crown Court on 13 January.
Telegraph
22 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Criminals access HMRC records of 100,000 taxpayers
The records of up to 100,000 taxpayers have been accessed by organised criminals following an attack on HMRC. The tax authority is thought to have lost £47 million as a result of the breach last year, with officials telling MPs that 0.2 per cent of PAYE taxpayers with personal accounts were affected – representing about 100,000 people, according to Business and Accountancy Daily. The raid comes after HMRC pushed millions of workers to file their tax returns online as part of its Making Tax Digital scheme. Officials told the Treasury committee that the incident was 'not a cyber attack' but instead took the form of multiple phishing attacks 'designed to extract money' from the tax authority, carried out by several organised crime gangs over an extended period last year. However, on its website, the taxman confirmed it had only just started writing to affected taxpayers, with letters set to arrive between now and June 25. The news came to light on the same day that HMRC's phone lines were hit by a system outage, which meant only those using the specific phone number in the letters to phishing victims were able to call the organisation. Those affected have been told they do not need to take any action and HMRC has said it has locked down any accounts impacted by the breach and deleted log-in credentials. HMRC had told public to beware phishing Phishing attacks occur when a criminal tricks a victim into disclosing personal details, often by pretending to be a trusted figure such as a police officer or HMRC worker. HMRC warned the public as recently as January, ahead of the tax return deadline, to be on alert for phishing texts which often included phrases such as 'you have an outstanding tax refund' along with a link to 'claim' it. HMRC has been repeatedly criticised for rushing to shift customers online. In January this year, MPs on the public accounts committee said the organisation had 'willingly allowed its phone services to fail' to force taxpayers to use the internet. Average wait times for taxpayers using the telephone helpline jumped to 23 minutes in the first 11 months of 2023-24, according to a National Audit Office report, up from five minutes in 2018-19. HMRC announced last month that it would no longer process requests for self-assessment refunds over the phone or via webchat due to a rise in suspected fraud. In the past, the tax authority has formally disciplined staff for failing to protect taxpayer data. HMRC sacked 40 members of staff for breaches of data security and issued written warnings to 95 in 2020-21, according to figures obtained by The Telegraph in 2021. An HMRC spokesman said on Wednesday: 'We've acted to protect customers after identifying attempts to access a very small minority of tax accounts, and we're working with other law enforcement agencies both in the UK and overseas to bring those responsible to justice. 'This was not a cyber-attack – it involved criminals using personal information from phishing activity or data obtained elsewhere to try to claim money from HMRC. 'We're writing to those customers affected to reassure them we've secured their accounts and that they haven't lost any money.'
Daily Mail
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
British 'arson gang' recruited by Moscow-backed Wagner Group to 'firebomb Mayfair restaurant and kidnap 'Russian dissident' owner after torching Ukrainian parcel firm warehouse', court hears
Two British men were recruited by Russia 's Wagner Group to firebomb a Mayfair restaurant and kidnap its owner after carrying out a £1million arson attack on a warehouse with equipment bound for Ukraine, a court heard yesterday The terrorist group conducting a sabotage campaign on behalf of Russian intelligence is said to have recruited two men to set fire to a warehouse in Leyton, East London, destroying over £100,000 worth of equipment, including generators and vital Starlink satellite equipment destined for Ukraine. The Old Bailey heard that the blaze at 11.40pm on March 20 last year was livestreamed on Facetime to the 'architect' of the plot who then reported back to the Russians on the success of the 'mission'. The attack was orchestrated by Jake Reeves, 23, and Dylan Earl, 20, from Leicestershire who went on to plan an arson attack on a restaurant and wine business in Mayfair by kidnapping the owner of the businesses. The owner of the Hide Restaurant and Hedonism Wines, which were valued at over £30million and employed 200 people, was described as a 'high profile dissident' and 'refugee' who was open about his criticism of Putin, the court heard. The duo planned to kidnap him in a bid to 'influence the Government' to further 'a political and ideological cause', jurors were told. Their kidnapping and arson plot was unearthed after a group of men, who were supposedly enlisted by Reeves and Earl, stood trial on allegations of setting a east London warehouse storing Ukrainian bound equipment alight. Prosecutor Duncan Penny, KC, said: 'Acting at the behest of the Wagner Group, [Earl] planned a similar arson attack on two businesses – a wine shop called Hedonism and a restaurant called Hide – in West London. Jake Reeves (pictured left) and Dylan Earl orchestrated an attack on satellite equipment bound for Ukraine before planning an arson on a restaurant in Mayfor, a court heard 'The businesses belong to a high-profile Russian dissident and refugee who has been vocal in his criticism of president Putin and the war in Ukraine. He has, for example, driven aid trucks from the UK to Ukraine personally.' Mr Penny added: 'You might think that it is self-evident that these actions were designed to influence the government and to intimidate at least a section of the public and furthermore were made for the purpose of advancing a political and ideological cause.' Both have also already admitted aggravated arson on behalf of the Wagner Group and an offence under the National Security Act, jurors heard. They also have admitted the separate plot to set fire to the firms in west London, as well as to kidnapping their owner on behalf of the Wagner Group. Yesterday the four men who were allegedly recruited to carry out the attack, Jakeem Rose, 23, Ugnius Asmena, 20, Nii Mensah, 23 and Paul English, 61, went on trial accused of aggravated arson. Mr Penny told jurors: 'This was deliberate and calculated criminality - at the behest of foreign influence. 'In the case of these defendants at the time of the fire they may have been ignorant of that influence and the motive may have been financial - good old-fashioned greed. 'For others, however, it appears to have been both political and ideological.' Mr Penny said the warehouse was targeted because of its connection to Ukraine, with the premises also being used to store humanitarian aid bound for the war zone. The fire started by a jerry can of petrol caused more than £1million in damage to the buildings, with eight fire crews battling to bring it under control. The driver of a lorry parked nearby tried unsuccessfully to put out the fire which was started within 10metres of houses, but no one was hurt in the attack. Earl, described as the 'architect' of the plot, was said to have knowingly acted at the behest of the Wagner Group, a proscribed terrorist organisation 'under the direct command of the Russian government'. The Briton contacted the Wagner Group on the encrypted social media application Telegram expressing a willingness to undertake 'missions' of which the Leyton arson attack was the first, Mr Penny said. 'It is apparent that Dylan Earl knew he was acting against Ukrainian, and for Russian, interests,' he told jurors. 'The reason for the selection of this building as a particular target in East London in March of last year appears to have been its connection to Ukraine.' The warehouse housed a logistics company which was frequently delivering goods to Ukraine, including StarLink satellite equipment. Reeves only discovered afterwards the motive for the attack but was 'still prepared to agree to accept money from a foreign intelligence service in respect of further planned offences,' the court was told. Mr Penny said the four alleged arsonists 'may have been ignorant of that influence', but acted out of 'old-fashioned greed'. The group were captured on CCTV with Rose seen pouring a jerry can of petrol onto the doors of the warehouse units and setting them alight, jurors heard. Mensah is alleged to have filmed the blaze with a mobile telephone, livestreaming it to Earl. The court heard that there is 'overwhelming evidence' against the defendants, including a knife with Rose's DNA dropped at the scene. Following the attack, Mensah allegedly messaged Earl saying: 'Bro there was bare smoke... You saw it on Face Time. He added: 'Bro lol it's on the news... we dun damagees (sic).' Rose, of Croydon, Asmena, of no fixed address, Mensah, of Thornton Heath and English, of Roehampton, have denied aggravated arson. The case continues.
