News

Men jailed for stealing 2,000 litres of diesel

Published

9 years ago

April 9, 2017

THE FIRST conviction for ‘hot tapping’ in Wales has been made following an incident in Pembrokeshire where 2,000 litres of diesel were stolen.

Iulian Neacsu, aged 21, received a 21 month sentence for damage to and theft from the pipeline. Nicolae Petre, aged 36 and Constantin Dumitrescu, aged 31, both received nine month sentences for going equipped.

They changed their pleas to guilty on the second day of their trial and were sentenced at Swansea Crown Court.

Dyfed-Powys Police worked closely with the National Crime Agency, North Wales Police and West Mercia Police to investigate the incident and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which forms part of the national Operation Methane.

Examination of the remote location where the hot tapping occurred led to a number of items of interest, including a receipt that belonged to one of the offenders, being recovered.

Detective Sergeant Dale Scriven said: “This is a significant outcome for Dyfed-Powys Police and for Wales. Not only were we able to secure convictions for going equipped, but for damage and theft from the pipeline.

“We had to work fast time in this investigation to catch the offenders before they were able to disappear from our radar.

“A golden nugget was the finding of the receipt at the scene of the crime, along with other items of forensic interest.

“Some excellent Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) work was carried out, which allowed us to track the offenders’ vehicle as they attempted to get away from the scene. By tracking the car’s movements and working with our neighbouring police forces, we were then able to stop the care on the A483 in Llanymynech and make the arrests.

“I hope this delivers a clear strong message to anyone else involved in this type of criminality not to come to Dyfed-Powys. We are not an easy option and we will follow all lines of enquiry to catch offenders.”

News

Hakin motorist banned after driving 14 times over drug limit

Published

15 hours ago

June 9, 2026

Sarah-Jane Absalom

A HAKIN motorist has been banned from driving for three years after being caught behind the wheel with cocaine and benzoylecgonine in his system.

Mark Briskham, 53, of Waterloo Square, Wellington Road, Hakin, was stopped by police on January 5 as he drove a Ford Kuga along Steynton Road, near Milford Haven.

Blood tests carried out at the police station showed he had 800mcg of benzoylecgonine in his system. The legal limit is 50mcg.

He also had 64mcg of cocaine in his system. The legal limit is 10mcg.

Briskham pleaded guilty to two drug-driving charges when he appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court this week.

Magistrates disqualified him from driving for three years, taking into account a previous drug-drive conviction from 2020.

He was also fined £120 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £48 surcharge.cr

Crime

Begelly man remanded over alleged May Day assault

Published

15 hours ago

June 9, 2026

Sarah-Jane Absalom

A PEMBROKESHIRE man has been remanded in custody following an alleged May Day assault against a woman in Begelly.

Tomas Baker, 34, of Ty Dee, New Road, Begelly, is accused of assaulting the woman, causing actual bodily harm, at an undisclosed location in Begelly on May 1.

Baker appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court this week by video link from Swansea Prison.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge.

His trial will take place at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on June 22.

Crime

Waterston man denies child rape and sexual assault charges

Published

16 hours ago

June 9, 2026

Tom Sinclair

A WATERSTON man has appeared before magistrates charged with 13 sexual offences against children, including three allegations of raping a girl under the age of 13.

Chaisee Price, 25, of Biggins Hill, Waterston, Milford Haven, appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court this week.

He faces three charges of raping a girl under 13, eight charges of sexually assaulting girls aged between five and eight, and two charges of intentionally inciting girls under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

The offences are alleged to have taken place between 2014 and 2019.

Price denied all charges.

Because of the seriousness of the allegations, magistrates declined jurisdiction and the case will now proceed to Swansea Crown Court on July 10.

Price was released on conditional bail.

The conditions include a daily electronically monitored curfew between 6:00pm and 6:00am, no contact with the prosecution witness, no unsupervised contact with children under 18, and a requirement to surrender his passport to police.