News

Essex man sentenced for courier fraud targeting Pembrokeshire pensioners

Published

1 year ago

March 7, 2023

A CRIMINAL from Essex who picked up cash and gold from three households in Pembrokeshire that had been conned out of tens of thousands of pounds has been sentenced at Basildon Crown Court.

Arnaldo Katalay, aged 24, of Gascoigne Way, Billericay, travelled to West Wales to carrying out a number of pick-ups from people he had helped con into thinking were helping the police and banks uncover corruption.

But what his con had done is trick them into buying gold so the scammers could line their own pockets.

His first victim, a pensioner, received a number of calls between 2 and 18 November 2021 from a man claiming to be DCI Paul Stewart from Paddington Police Station.

The fake officer said that a female had been arrested trying to use the victim’s bank card to purchase a Hotpoint washing machine in Argos.

As the calls continued the victim was persuaded to assist an investigation into ‘bad apples’ working at NatWest Bank in Canary Wharf.

This led to them placing two orders for gold bullion from an online retailer, where they spent £27,363.78. The gold was delivered to then on three separate days 9th, 10th and 16th November 2021.

The victim told “DCI Stewart” when each delivery was being made and he arranged for ‘a courier’ to collect them from their home address.

On 9th November at approximately 5.15pm, whilst she was on the phone to “DCI Stewart”, a male called at her home address to collect the gold, which had been delivered from earlier that day.

She handed the package, containing gold worth £10,000, to him and the male left.

On 10th November, following the delivery of the second amount of gold, a courier arrived and collected it. The value of the gold collected that day was £7,913.72.

On 16th November, following the delivery of gold earlier that day, a ‘courier’ arrived at their home to collect this third package. The total value of the gold collected on 16th November was £9,450.06.

Thereafter contact with “DCI Stewart” ceased and on 22nd November the victim had a sudden realisation they had been the victim of a fraud and reported it to Dyfed-Powys Police.

They lost their life savings in the con, however, they have since been reimbursed by the bank.

The second victims, married pensioners, received a number of calls between 2 and 26 November 2021.

The unknown caller purported to be DC Robert Lawrence, from a serious fraud squad at Charing Cross Police Station.

He persuaded them to withdraw £7,500 from their bank account on 9 November and that it would be collected by a courier in order to progress their investigation.

Following the collection of the cash “DC Lawrence” continued to maintain regular telephone contact with his victims until they were eventually persuaded to purchase £18,769.42 worth of gold online from a company on 15th November.

There were however delays in the gold being delivered and while “DC Lawrence” continued to maintain telephone contact with the couple the fraud failed.

Officers carrying out house-to-house enquiries from the first offence identified the couple had also been victims.

The gold was delivered, but because police had intervened, it wasn’t handed to a courier and was instead returned for a refund.

The third victim, an elderly person living alone in Pembrokeshire, was targeted between 26 November and 1 December 2021, this time from someone claiming to be DC Thomas Daniel from Paddington Police Station.

He told her the NatWest Bank were engaged in fraud and then handed her to his Sergeant, called Goodwood, who continued to tell her she needed to take action to assist them in her enquiries.

Following numerous telephone calls the victim went to her bank on Friday 26th November, having been told to withdraw £3,000 by the scammer.

The bank declined the full amount but let her withdraw £1,250 in cash.

When they told the ‘officer’ on the phone they had only been allowed to withdraw that amount the male became angry with her.

On Monday 29th November, following further phone calls from the suspect who demanded that she withdrew more money, the victim went to Carmarthen where they took out Euros 1,770 at a travel agent.

At about 6pm on Monday 29th November Mrs Phillips was told to meet a male outside her house. They handed both the sterling taken out on the 26th, and the Euros to the male.

They later realised she had been the victim of a scam and reported it to police on 1st December 2021.

Significant efforts by various teams across Dyfed-Powys Police, from the neighbourhood policing teams, the Economic Crime Team and detectives in CID was able to evidence that Katalay had been the man who collected the gold and cash from the victims.

Officers used phone records, and the fact that Katalay paid for a taxi he used to go to one of the victim’s homes by bank transfer to track him down and ultimately convict him.

The evidence they secured was shared with colleagues from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit, which is based in the east of England, who convicted Katalay through the courts there.

DCI Cameron Ritchie said Katalay’s crimes had a profound effect on his victims.

“We’re pleased to have secured the evidence to convict Katalay and to have supported the victims who have come forward,” he said.

“We’re talking about people who have been tricked into handing over life savings, so their confidence has taken a huge hit.

“It is cruel and completely unfair but I hope they can get over this. They have had some or all of their money back but the damage done to their confidence in immeasurable.

“During this time period we received more than 80 calls reporting unsuccessful claims, so we know they were pushing hard in the Pembrokeshire area at that time.

“It is unfortunate that these people were conned but these scammers are very cunning, careful and clever criminals who have worked to exploit three people that we know about.

“This conviction is the result of the efforts of our investigators in CID working with the economic crime team and Ersou to get the evidence needed to prove Katalay had been involved in tricking people into handing over £88,000 in just a month in Pembrokeshire.

“Police would never ask any members of the public to purchase gold or other valuables nor ask for cash to be handed to a courier. If you have any concerns please contact police on 101, online or in an emergency 999.”

Katalay pleaded guilty to all charges in January 2023 and on Thursday, 2nd March, he was sentenced to seven months imprisonment, suspended for two years, and to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.

Business

Largest Welsh port appoints communications and marketing director

Published

12 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE Port of Milford Haven has announced that Anna Malloy has been appointed as its first Communications and Marketing Director.

Anna is appointed to the Senior Management Team and this new role will be pivotal to the delivery of the Port’s long-term growth and diversification agenda and in ensuring that its obligations to coastal communities, future generations and to nature are honoured.

Tom Sawyer, CEO of the Port of Milford Haven, congratulated Anna and said: “Anna has a key role to play in our future and it’s doubly lovely to see ‘port-grown-talent’ flourish and for colleagues to progress up through our organisation.”

Anna will lead across the public affairs, marketing, sustainability, media relations, and community relations activities. She will therefore play a central role in the development of new and existing partnerships, including the Celtic Freeport, the Milford Haven Energy Cluster and the Celtic Collection; sitting alongside the delivery of major projects like Milford Waterfront and the Pembroke Dock Renewables Terminal.

“This is such an exciting opportunity. I am proud to be joining the Senior Management Team and look forward to delivering our ambitious strategy,” commented Anna Malloy, Communications and Marketing Director.

She added: “The Port of Milford Haven is playing a key role in the transition of South-West Wales’ economy to a decarbonised future. A beautiful place, with great people, that I am privileged to call my home.”

Community

First deadlines met following enforcement action at landfill site

Published

14 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE first set of deadlines for the completion of actions to tackle the ongoing odour issues at Withyhedge Landfill in Pembrokeshire have been met, one week on following the issuing of further enforcement action by Natural Resources Wales (NRW).

NRW issued site operator Resources Management UK Ltd (RML) with a further Regulation 36 Enforcement Notice on Thursday 18 April.

This outlined a series of actions to be completed by specified deadlines to address the ongoing odour and landfill gas emission issues at the site.

During the latest site inspection which took place yesterday (Thursday 25 April), NRW was able to confirm that three actions have been completed – two ahead of the imposed deadlines.

The operator has installed 24 pin wells, which have been driven into the waste in the lower section of the cell identified as causing the odour issues (Cell 8). These have also been connected to the landfill gas extraction system.

Capping material has been placed over the same area of the cell and welded to the basal liner to encapsulate gas in this area, allowing for extraction by the pin wells and four horizontal gas wells, which were previously installed.

While progress is being made, NRW officers detected strong landfill gas odours during an offsite assessment on Wednesday (24 April) in Poyston Cross and Crundale. Weather conditions this week appear to have led to a wider spread of landfill gas to surrounding areas, not solely linked to wind direction.

NRW odour assessments follow a set route around the landfill, with designated survey spots, identified to enable consistency of assessment and reporting. This is essential to ensure the regulatory and enforcement responses where there is offsite odour attributed to the landfill is robust.

The remaining Regulation 36 Notice actions will require significant effort by RML to ensure they are completed on time and NRW continues to closely monitor progress.

Clare Pillman, Chief Executive of NRW, met with representatives from NRW’s South West Industry Regulation Team and Pembrokeshire County Council during a visit to Pembrokeshire on Thursday 25 April.

Clare Pillman, Chief Executive, Natural Resources Wales, said: “While visiting the area surrounding Withyhedge Landfill with our regulatory team and partners from Pembrokeshire County Council this week, I was able to see and hear for myself just what people living and working in these communities have had to endure as a result of the odour issues from the site.

“What they have been experiencing is unacceptable and our officers have been working tirelessly alongside colleagues at Pembrokeshire County Council to ensure the operator gets this under control as quickly as possible. While it was clear that a lot of work has been done on site, there is still more to do to ensure they address all the actions set out in the enforcement notice.

“We want to make sure that happens, and are exploring every option together with Pembrokeshire County Council to ensure the operator works quickly to resolve the issues which are clearly affecting the quality of life of people in these communities.”

Huwel Manley, Head of South West Operations, said: “While we are reassured that action is being carried out by the operators at Withyhedge Landfill with a sense of urgency, we are continuing our regulatory presence on site to ensure the operator’s focus remains on tackling the issues that will address the continuing odour issues being experienced by surrounding communities.

“We will be closely monitoring progress over the coming days and weeks to ensure the operator complies with all the actions set out in Notice by 14 May. If they are not met, we will pursue additional enforcement action where appropriate.”

NRW requests that instances of odour from the landfill continue to be reported via this dedicated form: https://bit.ly/reportasmellwithyhedge or by calling 0300 065 3000.

Please report odours at the time of them being experienced, rather than historically. Reporting odours in a timely manner will help guide the work of partners more effectively, particularly in the further development of air quality monitoring.

These photos taken on 16 April and 25 April show the progress of capping works on cell 8. Pin wells are visible in both images. These have been connected to the landfill gas extraction system and are extracting gas from the waste mass.

Community

Milford Haven’s war memorial is 100 years old today

Published

14 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE Milford Haven War Memorial, a significant landmark commemorating the fallen heroes of World Wars and subsequent conflicts, marks its 100th anniversary today.

The memorial, which was inaugurated on April 26, 1924 by the Venerable the Archdeacon of St Davids, remains a poignant symbol of sacrifice and hope for peace.

Constructed from 1923 to 1924, the memorial consists of a striking assembly of pink granite and white marble statues that were sculpted in Italy.

Representing the Army, Navy, and Air Force, these life-size statues stand on an unpolished three-step plinth below a main pedestal. A soldier faces west and a sailor east, with an airman atop the central column, surveying the skies.

The names and inscriptions of the fallen are carved into the polished granite shaft, meticulously supervised by surveyor J.P. Morgan with contractor E. Jones of Llanybydder.

Located on Hamolton Terrace with views over the Milford Haven waterway, the memorial is a freestanding structure in an external, roadside setting. It features a serviceman/woman sculpture in marble and Portland stone, set on a concrete base surrounded by railings. Inscribed plaques honour those who served in the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War, and the conflict in Iraq from 2003 to 2009.

The memorial lists the names of 239 men who perished in the First World War on its polished grey granite faces. The Second World War claimed 157 lives from this community, whose names are recorded on bronze plaques around the base. Notably, the memorial also honours one serviceman who fell during the Korean War and another who was killed in Iraq in 2007.

The Milford Haven War Memorial stands not only as a historical monument but also as an enduring reminder of the costs of war and the community’s ongoing commitment to peace.

As the town reflects on a century of remembrance, the hope remains that future generations will continue to cherish and learn from the lessons of the past.