Formerly subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order banning online contact with under-16s

A 57-YEAR-OLD man from St Dogmaels appeared before Swansea Crown Court on Monday (Jan 19) in connection with alleged offences relating to indecent images of children.

The court heard that Leof Sceaga was previously subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), which prohibited him from having any unsupervised contact with girls under the age of 16 and from using the internet to communicate with anyone under that age. The order also prevented him from downloading images onto any device capable of accessing the internet.

Prosecutors told the court that in May 2025, police seized a mobile device belonging to Mr Sceaga and carried out a “DIP” (digital imaging) examination. The court heard that the analysis allegedly detected a number of Category A and Category C images of children.

It was further alleged that Mr Sceaga had failed to notify police that he was using a mobile phone and a bank account, as required under the terms of his order.

A further electronic device was seized by officers on December 18, 2025, and is currently under examination.

The case was adjourned until February 20, 2026 to allow police to complete their investigations.

Sceaga was remanded back into custody ahead of the next hearing.

A HAVERFORDWEST man who fraudulently secured £150,000 in Covid support for mobile phone businesses has been ordered to repay almost £200,000 — and faces prison if he fails to pay.

Zahid Afzal, 37, of Albert Street, appeared at Swansea Crown Court on Monday (Jan 19) for a confiscation hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act. The court ordered him to pay £197,306 within three months.

Afzal was previously handed a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years in June 2025 after pleading guilty to fraud offences following an Insolvency Service investigation. He was also ordered to complete 300 hours of unpaid work.

The Insolvency Service said Afzal made two legitimate applications for Bounce Back Loans in 2020, totalling £52,500, for his companies Phone Bits Limited and Phones Onn Ltd. However, it said he then exploited the scheme by applying for three additional maximum-value loans of £50,000 each, despite companies only being entitled to one Bounce Back Loan.

The £150,000 was paid between May and November 2020 — one £50,000 loan for Phone Bits Limited and two £50,000 loans for Phones Onn Ltd.

Investigators said Afzal falsely declared that Phone Bits Limited had not already received a Bounce Back Loan when he made a further application in May 2020, despite £32,500 having been paid into the company’s account the day before.

They also said he inflated the turnover figure for Phones Onn Ltd on applications in July and November 2020, stating it was £200,000 — the minimum required to secure a £50,000 loan — after earlier declaring turnover of £80,000 when applying legitimately for a £20,000 loan.

The Insolvency Service said significant amounts of the money paid into the businesses were later transferred into Afzal’s personal accounts, contrary to scheme rules which required the loans to be used for the economic benefit of the business.

Afzal has repaid only £2,722 in the more than five years since the applications were made, the Insolvency Service said. If he fails to repay the £197,306 within the time allowed, he faces two years in prison — and will still be required to repay the money even if jailed.

The confiscation figure includes the three £50,000 loans and indexation to reflect changes in the value of money since 2020.

The Insolvency Service said it also secured a restraint order against Afzal’s accounts, preventing assets from being moved or spent while proceeds of crime action was pursued.

Afzal’s businesses operated mobile phone shops or kiosks in Carmarthen, Shropshire, Andover in Hampshire and North Devon.

Two young men held after officers attend addresses in Vicary Crescent and Hakin

ARMED police were called to addresses in Milford Haven on Sunday morning as part of an operation which has now led to the arrest of two young men on suspicion of drugs offences.

Officers attended Vicary Crescent and St Laurence Avenue at around 8:45am on Sunday (Jan 18), prompting concern among residents after a significant police presence was seen on the usually quiet residential streets.

Witnesses reported at least six police vehicles in Vicary Crescent, including two police vans, with armed officers seen at the scene shortly after 9:00am. Police were also seen in numbers at St Laurence Avenue in Hakin at the same time, which is understood to be linked to the same operation.

At the time, residents described the scenes as alarming.

One woman told The Herald: “I’ve never seen anything like this down here. It really was a shock first thing on a Sunday morning.”

Dyfed-Powys Police have now confirmed that the operation resulted in arrests the following day.

In a statement issued to The Herald, police said two men, aged eighteen and nineteen, both from Milford Haven, were arrested in the early hours of Monday (Jan 19) on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of Class A controlled drugs.

Both men remain in police custody while enquiries continue.

Police have not confirmed what prompted the armed response, and no further details about the circumstances of the arrests or any items seized have been released at this stage.

The investigation remains ongoing.