A former world MMA champ has gone on trial in Germany after he was busted for allegedly trafficking more than 1,500 lbs of cocaine.

Deji Kalejaiye, 43, known as ‘Mad Dog’, was arrested for dealing cocaine in the city of Muenster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Kalejaiye was arrested and accused of transporting more than 700 kilogrammes (1,543 lbs) of cocaine as a courier.

He appeared before a judge at the district court in Muenster on Monday along with his lawyers, Hans Reinhardt, 62, and Markus Blumenstein, 52.

Local media report that Kalejaiye was allegedly paid between EUR 550 and EUR 650 (GBP 477 and GBP 563) per kilogramme of cocaine that he transported, despite just one kilogramme of cocaine fetching up to EUR 100,000 (GBP 86,674) on the street.

The fighter – who was a two-time kickboxing world champ and then an MMA heavyweight world champion – has been accused of creating cavities in vehicles through his car company for drugs smugglers, before later agreeing to drive the car himself.

The defendant said in court: “But that was only three trips – until coronavirus came. Then business exploded.”

It is also alleged that he had an AK-47 assault rifle in his car while carrying out the drug courier operations.

He reportedly fell foul of investigators after his customers used the Encrochat mobile phone network, unaware that investigators had cracked its encryption.

Encrochat was considered a “WhatsApp for gangsters”, according to local media.

The provider offered customers seemingly secure encrypted text communication but the system was often allegedly used by criminals to carry out criminal activity. But the system was reportedly cracked by investigators in 2020.

His lawyer, Reinhardt, said: “My client helped the public prosecutor a lot in investigating the Encrochat crimes. Therefore, despite the smuggling of more than 700 kilogrammes of cocaine, he can hope for a fair verdict in just four months.”

The case is ongoing.