News
£50,000 worth of cocaine seized
A PEMBROKESHIRE man is one of six who have been remanded in custody facing charges of conspiracy to supply cocaine, which is believed to have a street value of £50,000.
Thomas Charles Salmon, aged 31, of Llanmill, Narberth appeared at Llanelli Magistrates Court on Monday. No pleas were entered when the six defendants appeared at court, they appeared only to confirm their names and addresses.
Each face the charge that between April 1, 2012 and March 21, 2014, in Carmarthenshire, they conspired together to supply a quantity of cocaine, a class A drug. Prosecutor Vaughan Pritchard-Jones told Llanelli magistrates that “the police had intercepted a vehicle allegedly carrying a kilogramme of cocaine, with a street value of £50,000.”
The six defendants from the Carmarthenshire area were David James Lloyd Evans, aged 41, of Crud y Wawr, St Clears; Jenkin Anthony Davies, age 54, of Elfed, Carmarthen, and Greg Ian McKenzie, aged 28, of Awelon, Blaenwauun, Whitland.
From the Merseyside area were David Campbell, aged 57, and Richard Andrew Houghton, aged 30. All six were remanded in custody until Friday, April 4, when they will appear for a preliminary hearing at Swansea Crown Court.
A Dyfed-Powys spokesman said: “A police team had been conducting an investigation into the trafficking of substantial quantities of Class A drugs, namely cocaine, into the Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and the South Wales areas. A total of one kilo of cocaine has been recovered in the police operation.”
Detective Inspector Huw Davies told The Herald: “This is a significant amount of drugs that has been recovered. Tackling class A drugs is a priority for the police and those who bring such drugs into the force area will be relentlessly targeted.”
Business
Thousands of homes in rural Wales gain from faster 4G boost
RURAL Wales is seeing a major upgrade in mobile connectivity, with faster 4G now live in several areas. Seven locations across North, South West, and West Wales are benefitting from new 4G mast upgrades funded by the UK Government’s Shared Rural Network (SRN), aimed at closing the digital gap between rural and urban areas.
The upgrades, which went live on Thursday (Nov 14), bring improved 4G coverage to communities including Bontddu, Llanelltyd, Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, Penmaenpool, Tabor, Snowdonia National Park, and Bontgoch. Local businesses, emergency services, and residents are expected to benefit from faster internet access, which supports daily communication, business opportunities, and economic growth.
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: “Fast, reliable connectivity is essential for modern life and should be available from Cardiff to the remotest parts of Wales. Today’s upgrades bring us closer to making this a reality.”
SUPPORTING DIGITAL INCLUSION
As part of the rollout, Peter Kyle and Telecoms Minister Sir Chris Bryant visited Ebbw Vale to discuss digital inclusion with charity and industry leaders. They met with representatives at BGfm, a digital inclusion hub in Blaenau Gwent, to learn about how connectivity impacts daily life in Welsh communities.
Telecoms Minister Bryant said: “We are working tirelessly to make sure rural communities aren’t left behind online.
“These upgrades mean businesses can now operate without connectivity limitations, 999 services are better equipped to respond, and residents and tourists can stay connected across the Welsh countryside.”
ADDRESSING CONNECTIVITY GAPS
An estimated 1.5 million homes across the UK remain without internet access, limiting people’s ability to access essential services such as banking and healthcare. In addition to the SRN upgrades, the Chancellor has allocated over £500 million in next year’s budget for digital infrastructure expansion, targeting these underserved areas.
Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens highlighted the importance of this investment, particularly for rural Wales, where fast, reliable internet can be transformative.
“Connectivity is critical for day-to-day life in rural areas – from supporting local businesses to ensuring emergency services are just a call away,” Stevens said.
The upgraded masts, previously limited to EE customers and emergency 999 calls, now serve a wider user base, bringing essential internet access to more people without requiring new infrastructure.
Ben Roome, CEO of Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited, said: “With the activation of five new SRN sites, Wales is seeing the tangible benefits of the Shared Rural Network, bringing crucial connectivity to rural communities.”
GOVERNMENT INVESTMENT IN REMOTE WALES
The improvements come alongside a £170 million agreement with Openreach to provide gigabit-capable broadband to 70,000 remote Welsh properties, helping future-proof digital access in even the most isolated locations.
The latest upgrades mark another step in the Government’s mission to improve mobile coverage and close the connectivity gap across Wales, creating opportunities and supporting economic growth across rural communities.
News
Milford Haven man admits to downloading indecent images of children
A MILFORD HAVEN man has been sentenced after admitting to downloading over 1,000 indecent images and videos of children, including highly explicit content involving young children. Gareth MacDonald, now 23, appeared before Swansea Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images and videos across various devices.
The court heard that police visited MacDonald’s home, which was the scene of protests after his arrest, last year following intelligence suggesting that child abuse images had been accessed there.
Officers spoke with MacDonald’s mother at the door before entering to conduct a search.
During the operation, two mobile phones, a tablet, a laptop, and two hard drives were seized.
MacDonald initially spoke to one of the officers privately, admitting to downloading the images and saying, “It’s me.” Later, in formal interviews, he revealed that he had grown “bored with legal pornography” roughly a year earlier, knowing that what he was doing was illegal but continuing regardless.
Prosecutor Emily Bennett informed the court that MacDonald’s devices held 15 Category A images, the most severe classification, 26 Category B images, and 960 Category C images. Some content depicted children as young as nine, and the most serious material involved pre-teen children in distressing situations.
Bennett also noted that MacDonald had briefly joined an online group where members self-identified as paedophiles, although he left without sharing any material. Cleaning software was also found on his devices.
Defense counsel Dan Griffiths acknowledged that MacDonald’s actions had crossed the custodial threshold, but argued that there was “a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.” He highlighted MacDonald’s cooperation with police and his willingness to comply with rehabilitation programmes.
Judge Geraint Walters, presiding over the sentencing, addressed MacDonald, saying, “For some considerable time, you have accessed this kind of imagery, fully aware of the harm it represents.” He acknowledged that MacDonald largely isolated himself and stayed at home, factors he considered in the sentencing.
MacDonald was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, with a requirement to complete 20 rehabilitation activity days and participate in the Horizon programme. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years and is subject to a sexual harm prevention order for the same duration.
News
Welsh teenager jailed for creating 3D-printed gun at home
A TEENAGER who assembled parts for a viable semi-automatic firearm using a 3D printer has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison.
Owain Roberts, 19, purchased nuts, bolts, steel barrels, and metal rods online, constructing components of an FGC-9 gun with the aid of a 3D printer.
Detectives said that this case marks the first of its kind in Gwent, where Roberts admitted to manufacturing a firearm component. He appeared at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday (Nov 14).
In April, firearms officers executed warrants at two Newport addresses connected to Roberts. Seized items included a 3D printer, two laptops, six plastic reels, and parts for an FGC-9 firearm.
PC Tom Meazey, from Gwent Police’s East Serious Organised Crime team, stated: “Illegally-held firearms can lead to tragic consequences and devastate innocent people’s lives. To own a firearm, including a printable one, is illegal in the UK without a valid firearms certificate. Roberts’s reckless actions in buying items capable of manufacturing a firearm placed people at direct risk.”
This rare and complex investigation involved support from the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Roberts received a prison sentence of four years and nine months.
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“The sense of power and the great surge of energy that this earth provides is all I want my paintings to share”
P Evans
April 2, 2014 at 8:53 pm
Did you deliberately look for the worst photo you could find of him on facebook ?
Ariadne
April 3, 2014 at 1:16 am
You’ve got his age wrong too.
Kelly
April 4, 2014 at 10:44 am
You could have chosen one of the many many pictures where he hasn\’t got a can in his hand….
P Evans
April 4, 2014 at 1:17 pm
Yes, it’s just typical of the press, always trying to show people in the worst possible light.
P Evans
April 4, 2014 at 11:49 pm
Quote: A Dyfed-Powys spokesman said: A police team had been conducting an investigation into the trafficking of substantial quantities of Class A drugs, namely cocaine, into the Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and the South Wales areas. A total of one kilo of cocaine has been recovered in the police operation.
Detective Inspector Huw Davies told The Herald: This is a significant amount of drugs that has been recovered. Tackling class A drugs is a priority for the police and those who bring such drugs into the force area will be relentlessly targeted. Unquote.
Does anyone else think it an odd coincidence that a member of the Dyfed-Powys police, a certain Detective Sergeant Gareth Vaughan Bassett OF Llanelli was arrested just a couple of days before this incident for possession of cocaine and also appeared in Swansea Crown Court on April the 4th ? I notice that HE was granted bail on both occasions and as yet has not spent any time in prison. How nice for HIM !
David
April 5, 2014 at 1:17 am
I agree, that is an odd coincidence. In my opinion 90% of cops are corrupt as hell anyway.
David
April 5, 2014 at 3:46 pm
Well they may not all be corrupt, but in my experience they are definitely useless. When my former home was burgled some years ago they did NOTHING. Everyone knew who did it, the Police were even given evidence – a list in his own handwriting of places where he might have sold the stolen items, and if they’d followed it up they might have been able to recover some of our belongings. But they didn’t even visit the addresses on the list and because he had conveniently managed to get himself temporarily sectioned, the culprit was never even questioned, let alone charged. I had very little respect for the Police before that, and since then I have none at all.
P Evans
April 5, 2014 at 3:48 pm
This website is bonkers, I posted that last message above, so how the H*** has it got somebody else’s name on it ??????
Phillip Ashley
April 11, 2014 at 1:00 pm
I think it\’s wrong that they should be allowed to publish any photo at all until a person has been tried and convicted. People will remember seeing them in the papers and even if they are later found innocent, mud sticks.
P Evans
April 15, 2014 at 12:57 pm
>:(
Sherry Lawson
June 10, 2014 at 4:05 am
I totally agree.