Drug Lord Allegedly Had Man Doused with Acid for Stealing, Gambling $164K

Ten people are currently on trial after a man was doused in acid at his own home, which resulted in his death, allegedly for not paying back a drug lord.

Before succumbing to his injuries, 38-year-old Danny Cahalane revealed that he owed GBP 120,000 ($164,051) to a Dubai Crime boss known as “Frost”.

Frost’s real name, according to the prosecution, is Ryan Kennedy, a crime boss.

The victim suffered his injuries in the early morning of February 21, 2025, when two assailants entered his home forcefully and spilled acid on him. Cahalane passed away 10 weeks later.

As of now, the ten people, seven men and three women, are being charged with murder, manslaughter, attempted kidnapping, and being part of a gang linked to drug trafficking.

Amongst the defendants is the 35-year-old Paris Wilson, Cahalane’s ex-wife and the mother of one of his children.

What the Jurors Have Learnt

Jurors became privy to messages sent from Cahalane’s ex-wife to her mother, where she shared that the crime boss had been going insane over not having gotten his money back.

According to the BBC, the two were looking for ways to find Cahalane’s residence.

It is believed that, in the end, Wilson gave up Cahalane’s address to the drug lord, thinking she would get a cash reward.

Messages from Kennedy from before the attack, in which he makes threats against Cahalane, were presented to the court. Court documents show that these texts include things like:

“Your [sic] gonna die… U just need to die… You done me £80K… they coming up now”.

The prosecutor, Jo Martin KC, alleges that on January 19, 2025, Kennedy’s men attempted to break into Cahelane’s residence with the intent to kill him, but ultimately failed.

Following that, the drug lord would send the following message :

“Close call? Mate, I’m telling you they gonna burn gafs (houses) down and your gonna die.”

What the Deceased told Police

The prosecution has presented what Cahalane had shared with investigators that his position had been “sort of middle management in [Kennedy’s] drugs supply chain”.

However, he had gambled away a large sum of money belonging to Kennedy. Alongside that, he had been convinced that someone under him had run away with money belonging to the drug lord.