FOUR men have been charged with conspiracy to commit burglary following a high-value break-in at an industrial estate in Aberystwyth.

The incident occurred at around 9:30pm on Saturday (Apr 12), when a large quantity of e-bikes—worth an estimated £150,000—was stolen from a property on the Glan Yr Afon Industrial Estate in Llanbadarn Fawr.

Gavin Johnson, 39, Keith Johnson, 32, Gareth Corbett, 36, and Wayne Dreisey, 40, all from the Birmingham area, have been charged with conspiracy to commit burglary.

They appeared before Swansea Magistrates’ Court on April 19 and have been remanded in custody to appear at Swansea Crown Court on May 19.

Another man, aged 33, was arrested on suspicion of burglary and has been released on bail while further enquiries continue.

Calls grow for licensing scheme amid enforcement concerns

NEW data has revealed the Welsh hotspots for illegal vape sales, with over 30,000 illicit and unregulated products seized in 2024 – the equivalent of one every 20 minutes.

The worst-affected area was Newport, where Newport City Council confiscated more than 21,000 illegal vapes last year – an increase of 173% compared to 2023. The city accounted for a third of all illegal vape seizures in Wales. Over the past three years, 49 premises closure orders have been issued in the area.

Flintshire recorded the second highest number of seizures, with 4,545 illicit vapes removed from sale – up 170% on the previous year.

The findings come from a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted to 108 local authorities by Vape Club, and are published in the 2025 Illegal Vapes Report. The research lays bare the scale of the UK’s growing illegal vape market.

Wales’ top five illegal vape hotspots in 2024

• Newport City Council: 21,169 devices seized
• Flintshire County Council: 4,545 devices seized
• Carmarthenshire County Council: 1,850 devices seized
• Gwynedd Council: 721 devices seized
• Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council: 607 devices seized

Despite 82 recorded instances of illegal vape sales in Wales last year, only five penalties were issued. Closure orders were served to just ten retailers – representing only 12% of reported cases. The figures have prompted growing concern over inadequate enforcement.

Across the UK, 1.2 million illegal vapes were seized in 2024 – a 44% increase from the previous year. That equates to two illegal vapes seized every minute.

Industry experts are calling for the introduction of a Vape Retailer and Distributor Licensing Scheme to help tackle the issue. Without stricter controls and additional resources for enforcement, they warn the illegal trade could surge – especially following the UK Government’s planned ban on disposable vapes this June.

Dan Marchant, Director at Vape Club, said:
“The real issue of illicit vape sales lies in the inadequate enforcement of current regulations and the weak penalties for offenders. With the disposable vape ban coming into force, we risk a flood of dangerous, unregulated products entering the UK, all because the core issue has not been addressed.

“This boils down to lacklustre fines and no structured funding for Trading Standards. That’s why we strongly support a robust retail and distribution licensing scheme, with revenues ringfenced for proactive enforcement.

“This funding could give Border Force the resources to stop more illegal products at the border, and allow Trading Standards to crack down on rogue retailers and impose meaningful penalties.”

THE SEARCH for a man who went overboard from a UK-registered yacht in the Irish Sea entered its third day on Tuesday (Apr 22), with air and sea crews continuing to scour the waters off the County Waterford coast.

The man, believed to be in his fifties and from Wales, was reported missing late on Saturday night (Apr 19), approximately 16 nautical miles south of Dunmore East, near Ceann Heilbhic.

He is understood to have fallen overboard while the yacht was en route to Swansea from Brighton, via Falmouth in Cornwall.

A 999 call was made to the Irish Coast Guard’s Marine Rescue Coordination Centre in Dublin at approximately 10:40pm by another person onboard the vessel. Initially, the yacht’s crew believed they were closer to Swansea, but the vessel was later confirmed to be off the Irish coast.

A full-scale search and rescue operation was immediately launched, involving:

• Irish Coast Guard helicopters R117 (based in Waterford) and R116 (based in Dublin),
• A UK Coastguard fixed-wing aircraft providing aerial support,
• RNLI lifeboats from Dunmore East, Kilmore Quay, and Ballycotton.

The person who raised the alarm was taken safely ashore by emergency services.

Despite favourable weather conditions, the man remains missing. The search, which was temporarily suspended overnight for safety reasons, resumed at first light on both Monday and Tuesday.

Authorities have not yet released the identity of the missing man, and his next of kin have not been formally named.

The Irish Coast Guard confirmed that coordination of all search assets remains ongoing, with support from both Irish and UK agencies.

The Herald understands that the search is focusing on a defined area in the Irish Sea based on tidal calculations and drift modelling.

Anyone who may have been in the vicinity or seen the yacht at the time of the incident is being urged to contact the Irish Coast Guard.