UFC welterweight Kevin Holland makes regular headlines for his heroics outside the cage, but Conor McGregor managed to bring down a major drug operation without lifting a finger.
According to the report from Liverpool Echo, Liverpool Crown Court recently reached a verdict in a case from December 2021 that inadvertently involved the former two-division UFC champion.
Following successful efforts by European police to infiltrate the encrypted communications provider EncroChat in June 2020, 36-year-old Ryan Palin was identified as the user “Titch.com” which was engaged in drug trafficking activities.
Detectives investigating Palin’s EncroChat device found several photos of a mural of Conor McGregor painted on the side of a building. “Notorious” last competed in 2021 and was most recently seen aboard his luxury yacht, but residents of Merseyside have apparently had regular opportunities to see the brash Irishman’s visage adorning what turned out to be Palin’s home.
Police raided the residence in December 2021 and seized a variety of luxury assets that included designer clothing, handbags, and Rolex watches.
The 36-year-old Palin claimed innocence despite the circumstances of his arrest, resulting in the case going to trial. Last Friday, a jury at Liverpool Crown Court found Palin guilty of conspiracy to supply significant amounts of cocaine, heroin, and amphetamines using his “Titch.com” EncroChat handle. He was subsequently sentenced to 29 years in jail.
The Liverpool Echo article quotes Detective Sergeant Graeme Kehoe as saying, “We welcome the verdict and sentence and now that Ryan Palin is behind bars and can no longer peddle huge amounts of drugs and misery on the streets of Merseyside and beyond.”
Kevin Holland has been the UFC’s most active crime fighter, but perhaps this may show him there are other approaches besides chasing-down criminals just days before a scheduled fight.
What’s your reaction to a drug dealer being caught thanks to a mural of Conor McGregor?
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