MMA fighter ‘Boom Boom’ was alleged ‘senior figure’ in drug ring before moving to Dubai

The MMA fighter is accused of taking part in a 2015 plot to smuggle cocaine and amphetamines between Merseyside and South Wales

The mixed martial arts fighter spent almost a decade living in Dubai following a series of drug seizures from a gang in which he was allegedly a “senior figure”. Paul Cahoon appeared in court in Liverpool Crown Court was today charged with conspiracy to smuggle cocaine and amphetamines between Merseyside and South Wales in 2015, the year he emigrated abroad, before being extradited to the UK in 2024.

Prosecutor Stephen McNally told a jury of six men and six women on Tuesday that the 47-year-old had no fixed address but was from Saint Helena“had notoriety” for his “successful MMA career,” during which he used the nickname “Boom Boom.” This afternoon, the prosecutor’s office heard that he was linked to shipments of illicit Class A and B substances worth up to £83,000 through meetings and telephone contact with alleged co-conspirators.

One of them occurred on the evening of January 27, 2015, when police stopped a Ford Transit van on Lunt’s Heath Road in Widnes. Officers described driver Michael Challoner as “very nervous” and “stammering” and his hands were “trembling.”

The vehicle was initially seized because it had no insurance, but during a subsequent search it was found to contain a package of 248 grams of cocaine, worth between £7,440 and £25,000, hidden behind a wooden panel between the cabin and the rear. This parcel was also found to contain the DNA of a second man, Adam Parkes, whom Cahoon had visited earlier in the day at his home address.

The following day, January 28, the defendant met face to face with Parkes and a third man, James Bush. It was said that this was an “interrogation based on the fact that drugs were seized by the police.”

Then, on April 27 that year, officers intercepted a Renault Megane near junction 36 of the M4 motorway as Carl Currie was driving from Liverpool to South Wales. This led to the seizure of 20kg of amphetamine, a class B drug with a potential street value of between £20,000 and £40,000.

This contraband was found in “tailored leather” that was created by cutting a hole between the trunk and the rear passenger seats. The car is said to have traveled to the town of Maesteg and the home of Andrew Rogers, who later contacted Cahoon in an apparent attempt to obtain “information on where his drugs were.”

A further 2kg of amphetamine and a small amount of cannabis were then discovered during a search of Currie’s home. Ultimately, investigators identified a further 12 cases in which the conspirators traveled from Merseyside to South Wales, as well as two in the opposite direction.

Cahoon, who was wearing a light gray jumper over a white shirt and tie around his waist and had short gray hair and a beard, was then due to leave the UK on May 10, 2015, and live in the Middle East until his extradition last summer. The third drug seizure occurred late on the night of May 13, when Peter McCaffrey’s Subaru station wagon was stopped on the street Crosby Road South after traveling from South Wales.

Nine kilograms of amphetamine were found in a drawstring bag placed in the vehicle’s footwell. Nearly £25,000 in cash and nearly half a kilogram of cannabis were also recovered from his home in Seaforth.

Challoner previously pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine with intent to supply, while Parkes pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine. Bush pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and amphetamine, Currie and McCaffery pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply amphetamine, and Rogers was convicted after trial of the same offense.

Mr McNally told the court that Cahoon used nine different telephone numbers over a period of approximately six months and said: “The prosecution alleges that Paul Cahoon was a senior figure in these plots. We say that Mr Cahoon had other people transporting him and carried out the tasks according to his instructions and that it was clear from the way he acted that he was aware of the risk of detection and that he took steps to avoid it.

“The prosecution alleges that he cut out and changed his phone numbers to make it more difficult for the investigation to determine who he contacted, when he contacted them and who contacted him. This begs the question Why would Mr. Cahoon want to hide his telephone contact? According to the prosecutor’s office, it concerned conspiracies aimed at supplying drugs.

“On the other hand, the defendant’s case, as we understand it, is that back in 2015 he was a figure of local fame in certain circles because he was a well-known mixed martial arts fighter. The accused claims that these people maintained contact with his friends and colleagues.

“He says the contact had nothing to do with conspiracies, it was innocent contact with his friends and associates and had nothing to do with drug supply. It could be for example that they were just his friends or mixed martial arts training or debt recovery as his name and reputation would be an incentive to pay off the debts.”

McNally, however, said Cahoon’s telephone activity occurred “at key moments” and “relevant stages” of the conspiracy. He added: “The prosecution’s finding is simply too much of a coincidence that the level and timing of Mr. Cahoon’s contact is anything other than an indication of his involvement in the conspiracies.”

Cahoon, defended by Kate Bex KC, denies conspiracy to supply cocaine and amphetamines. The trial before Judge Robert Trevor Jones continues.