News
John Evans’ resignation: Council has no ‘appetite for change’
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LAST WEEK the Pembrokeshire Herald reported on the resignation of John Evans MBE, independent external chair of the County Council’s Audit Committee and the effect it was likely to have on the progress of the ongoing investigation into alleged impropriety in grants schemes in Pembroke and Pembroke Dock.
When we first learned of Mr Evans’ resignation we approached the Council for a statement and a copy of his resignation letter. On that occasion, we were informed that the letter was not the Council’s to publish. Unknown to us, former Labour party councillor David Edwards had made a request for the letter under the Freedom of Information Act and the Herald has been informed that Mr Evans subsequently assented to its release. The letter reveals how after a meeting with two senior Council officers, named in the letter as Head of Revenue Services Kerry MacDermott and the
newly promoted Jon Haswell, who is Director of Finance, Mr Evans concluded that: “The vision I held when I
![Resignation Letter](http://pembs-herald.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/letter-jones-250x300.jpg)
Resignation Letter
was appointed in Lay Member is no longer aligned with the appetite for change held by the Authority.” The Herald asked for the Council to comment on what was discussed at that meeting, but a spokesperson told us that they were not privy to its events and could not comment. Applicants for the new post are being directed to apply to Jon Haswell, who will no doubt be seeking someone more prepared to be aligned with his appetite for change. Councillor David Simpson, who sits on the Audit Committee and took over the handling of the grants scheme in a Cabinet reshuffle after the scandal broke, told the Herald: “We thank Mr Evans for his past work and look forward to appointing a new independent member of the Committee as soon as possible.” The date of the resignation letter, May 29, is also the date scheduled for a meeting of the Audit Committee which was postponed to allow Dr Steven Jones’ department to respond to specific issues raised in an internal audit report. Dr Jones’ department is the one responsible (entirely coincidentally) for controlling the Town Heritage Initiative and Commercial Property Grants Scheme currently under Police investigation. In further developments in the grants saga, the Herald can report that the Welsh European Funding Office met recently with Hakin Councillor Mike Stoddart. Cllr Stoddart has told the Herald: “When Cllr Jacob Williams and I inspected the files, we discovered that the council had accepted as evidence of defrayment a photocopy of the counterfoil of a cheque supposedly issued to the builder by the developer. “When we queried this with a member of the Council’s ‘highly regarded and experienced European funding team’ we were told that developers didn’t like producing their bank statements. To which we replied, in unison, that if developers didn’t like the rules they shouldn’t apply for grants. “From our conversation with the internal auditors, it seems that our view has prevailed. “In addition, I was visited a couple of weeks ago by a threeperson team from WEFO. We had a lengthy and fruitful discussion about the administrative failings of PCC including the proof of payment issue. It transpired that they, too, agree with me that photocopies of cheque book stubs don’t cut the mustard. “One thing that did emerge from the meeting with WEFO is that Cathal McCosker is so reluctant to provide his bank statements that, rather than do so, he is prepared to pay back the grant monies he has received.” Quite why Irish property developer Cathal McCosker should be so reluctant to back up the claims he has made on the public purse in Pembrokeshire by allowing his bank records to be examined can only be a matter of conjecture and is likely to be the subject of further examination by other authorities in due course. The refusal to allow inspection of bank records means that Mr McCosker has breached the terms under which payments were made to him. As a result now liable to repay the whole amount of the monies he and his brass plate companies received from the Town Heritage Initiative and Commercial Properties Grants Scheme. The Herald is now able to report that a planning application made by Mr McCosker to redevelop the Old School site in Pennar was withdrawn by Council officers when Mr McCosker failed to complete the purchase of the site on schedule. 50 Dimond Street, Pembroke Dock, for which Mr McCosker was allocated a grant before either purchasing the property OR submitting plans for its redevelopment, failed to sell at a recent auction. On the basis that the grant awarded, £122,000, amounted to 40% of the redevelopment costs, the cost of that project was scheduled to be £305,000. The property was marketed at auction with an indicative value of £210,000. Mr McCosker bought the vacant lot for a recorded price of £17,500. Mr Evans refers in his resignation to his desire to improve transparency, openness and scrutiny. It remains to be seen just how much further scrutiny those involved in the grants scandal are able to bear.
Community
Public reminded to stay away from Ward’s Yard and Criterion Quay
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THE PORT of Milford Haven is reminding members of the public to stay away from Ward’s Yard in Milford Haven and Criterion Quay (sometimes known as the offshore jetty) in Pembroke Dock due to concerns over public safety.
Despite significant security measures, people continue to access the sites illegally, ignoring and sometimes damaging the onsite signage and fences.
Niall Yeomans, Head of Health, Safety and Security at the Port of Milford Haven said: “Safety is our key priority. Members of the public are continuously putting themselves and members of our team at risk of serious harm by trespassing in these areas.”
“Both Ward’s Yard and Criterion Quay are unsafe for public access. They are isolated areas next to deep water and are susceptible to slips, trips and falls.”
Both sites are owned by the Port of Milford Haven and are private property. Anyone found onsite without consent is trespassing, and any criminal damage could result in prosecution.
Anyone who sees any suspicious activity at Ward’s Yard or Criterion Quay is asked to contact Dyfed Powys Police on 101 urgently.
Crime
‘Sophisticated’ organised crime gang trafficked cocaine and cannabis to Aberystwyth
![](https://pembrokeshire-herald.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/aber.jpg)
FIVE people have been found guilty or admitted to conspiring to supply cocaine and cannabis as Dyfed-Powys Police continues its efforts to dismantle organised crime gangs.
Officers seized cocaine with a street value of more than £400,000 from gang members, who continually changed tactics to avoid arrest.
Six defendants have appeared in court in the latest phase of Dyfed-Powys Police’s Operation Burleigh, which sought to disrupt the trafficking and onward supply of class A and B drugs into Aberystwyth, with all but one admitting their charges or being found guilty by a jury.
This brings the total number of people awaiting sentence under the operation to 15.
The court heard that officers from Dyfed-Powys Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Team and Ceredigion Priority Policing Team led the investigation into the OCG, which was described as ‘sophisticated, well-organised and evolving’.
Detective Sergeant Steven Jones said: “This conspiracy operated on a County Lines model, where controlled drugs are trafficked into a smaller rural town from a larger city, and the operation is controlled by one or more ‘drugs lines’.
“In this case there were a total of four lines controlling the supply of cocaine and cannabis within Aberystwyth.
“The conspirators frequently evolved their actions to frustrate the authorities and evade capture.”
The OCG embedded members were mainly asylum seekers brought to Aberystwyth by Toana Ahmad and another man who remains outstanding, with the sole purpose of dealing drugs. The drug lines were initially based in Swansea, and later in areas of Birmingham.
Three properties – on Terrace Road, Alexander Road and Parc Graig Glas – were identified early in the investigation as being used to house the OCG members embedded in Aberystwyth. Substantial amounts of cash, controlled drugs and weapons were recovered from these properties, and from the people found inside.
When arrests were made, the gang changed its tactics. Drugs began to be supplied from vehicles, and OCG members stayed in guest houses to avoid detection.
DS Jones added: “Trusted couriers were employed to transport drugs to Aberystwyth and cash back to Birmingham or Swansea. A number of vehicles, including taxis, were used as the gang attempted to avoid detection along the route, while trains were also taken when courier cars were stopped by officers.”
In June 2023, two vehicles travelling from the West Midlands towards Aberystwyth were stopped by police on consecutive days. A black sock was uncovered in the engine of the first car, which was found to contain 82g of high purity cocaine divided into 169 grip seal plastic bags.
Davinder Singh, who previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A and class B drugs, was the driver of the second vehicle, which was a taxi. A blue plastic bag was seen falling out of his shorts, which contained over 81g of high purity cocaine divided into 167 grip seal bags.
DS Jones said: “On the basis that the amounts of cocaine transported over the 37 couriers over the course of the conspiracy period were similar, over 3kg of cocaine would have been conveyed to Aberystwyth from Birmingham.
“This equates to class A drugs with a potential street value of over £308,950. In addition to this, class A drugs were seized from individuals and addresses with a potential street value of £103,445, along with cash totalling £11,687.
“A number of teams and departments across Dyfed-Powys Police, from analysts, CCTV operators and priority policing teams, to CAB, the Technical Support Unit, Economic Crime Team and Force Intelligence Bureau all assisted in dismantling the OCG from top to bottom.
“Their dedication and relentless efforts have assisted in making Aberystwyth a safer place to live without the threat and harm of drugs being made easily available on the street.”
After a seven-week trial at Swansea Crown Court earlier this year, the following three defendants were found guilty for their parts in the conspiracy:
- Toana Ahmad, aged 33, of Lee Gardens in Smethwich, West Midlands
- Barzan Sarhan, aged 31, of no fixed address
- Ahmed Piro, aged 26, of no fixed address
The jury failed to reach a verdict on two defendants during the earlier trial. They have been subject to a retrial starting on July 1, with the following outcomes:
- Hawre Ahmed, aged 35, of Pinderfields Road, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, was found guilty by the jury of conspiracy to supply Class A and B controlled drugs.
- Diar Yousef Zeabari, aged 35, of Flat 5, 41 Bryn Road, Swansea, was found not guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A and B controlled drugs.
Karwan Karim, aged 39 of 125 Griffith John Street, Swansea, also stood trial, and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A and B controlled drugs on day three.
In addition to the OCG members found guilty during the most recent trials, the following have previously pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to supply class A and class B drugs under Operation Burleigh:
- Davinder Singh, aged 36, of Huntingdon Road, West Bromwich
- Daban Khalil, aged 23, of Streetly Road, Birmingham
- Kastro Omar, aged 30, of Junction Road, Northampton
- Karwan Jabari, aged 26, of Weedon Close, Northampton
- Walid Younis Abdal, aged 34, of St Anne’s Road, Doncaster
- Saman Aziz, aged 41, of Kirk Road, Merseyside
- Adel Mustafa, aged 39, of Hubert Road, Newport
- Charlotte Roberts, aged 21, of Sutton Hill, Telford
The following have previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs:
- Akasha Smith, aged 24, of Third Avenue, Aberystwyth
- Luqman Jarjis, aged 21, of Wake Green Road, Birmingham
News
Community asked for views on allocation of new St Davids homes
![](https://pembrokeshire-herald.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Glasfryn3-scaled-e1721980963591.jpg)
THE FIRST phase of Pembrokeshire County Council’s Glasfryn housing development in St Davids is progressing well with the second phase also underway.
The development being built by GRD Homes Ltd, began in November 2023, with a first phase completion date of Winter 2024 looking hopeful, ahead of the scheduled plans.
The first phase consists of seven properties, including a mixture of one and two bedroom bungalows
As completion draws closer the properties will be advertised via Pembrokeshire Choice Homes.
Ahead of this, the Council’s housing team will be holding community engagement on the 13th August 2024 at the Ty’r Pererin Centres, Quickwell Hill, St Davids, SA62 6PD, 5pm-7pm.
This will be a chance for officers to liaise with the local community about the allocation process for these properties.
Glasfryn’s second phase is well underway, with the initial groundwork already completed. This phase includes a further 11 two bedroom bungalows, with a completion date in late 2025.
These bungalows will meet the latest Welsh Government’s Development Quality Requirement, and will be energy efficient, built to EPC A specification and include solar panels to help tenants with running costs.
The Glasfryn development is funded in partnership with Welsh Government.
Cabinet Member for Housing Cllr Michelle Bateman said: “We are really keen to work with the community on a local lettings policy for these new properties, as we have done for our developments in other parts of the County.”
If you have any queries please email the Customer Liaison Team on [email protected], phone them on 01437 764551, or visit Housing’s Facebook page.
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Roy Mcgurn
July 23, 2014 at 2:43 pm
It is abundantly clear that this case is a lot more than Mr McCosker trying to make a few bob. Why are officials so reluctant to shed any light on this? Walter Scott summed it up well.
“Oh what tangled webs we weave when we practice to deceive”.