Judge calls pensioner a ‘dirty old man’ as he avoids jail for exposing himself to women

A MILFORD HAVEN pensioner has been sentenced at Swansea Crown Court after exposing himself to women on two separate occasions.

Stewart Laugharne, 75, of Dairy Park Grove, Hakin, appeared before His Honour Judge Paul Thomas KC on Tuesday (Jun 30) for sentence after being convicted of two offences of exposure.

The court heard that the incidents took place on August 7 and August 26, 2025.

On the first occasion, Laugharne was standing naked near his home when he exposed himself to a woman who was walking alone. The judge said Laugharne then thrust his hips at her.

On the second occasion, a woman was walking with her baby when Laugharne called out to the child in an attempt to get the mother’s attention. When she looked over, she saw Laugharne naked, again thrusting his hips.

Judge Thomas KC gave Laugharne a stark warning, telling him: “Do not come before this court again. It will not end well for you.”

The judge also described Laugharne in court as a “dirty old man”.

Laugharne was sentenced to a two-year community order, including 20 days of rehabilitation activity requirements. He must also sign the sex offenders register for five years and pay a victim surcharge within 28 days.

The case had first appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court in December last year, when Laugharne, then aged 74, denied both charges.

Although the Crown Prosecution Service had indicated the matter was suitable to be dealt with by magistrates, Laugharne elected trial by jury and the case was sent to Swansea Crown Court.

Police say gang used luxury cars, rural meeting points and local distributors to move cocaine into west Wales

EIGHT people have been convicted over what police have described as an industrial-scale conspiracy to supply cocaine into Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire.

The convictions follow a major Dyfed-Powys Police investigation into the large-scale movement of Class A drugs into west Wales over a nine-month period.

The case began when officers stopped a DPD courier van on the M4 near Pont Abraham, Carmarthenshire, on August 8, 2025. Inside, police found more than 1.6kg of high-purity cocaine, which the police say has an estimated value of almost £190,000.

Further enquiries uncovered what police say was a complex organised crime network involving upstream suppliers, couriers from outside the Dyfed-Powys area, wholesale customers and local distributors operating in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire.

Tommy Lee Jones, aged 33, of Castle Quarry, Monkton, was identified by officers as playing a leading role as the head of the Pembrokeshire gang.

Police said Jones was sourcing multiple kilograms of cocaine on delivery dates from supplier Ahmed Al-Farraji and his associate Adam Noraddin, both from Cardiff.

According to Dyfed-Powys Police, Jones would make regular contact with the suppliers before large cash payments were handed over to Al-Farraji. The drugs were then transported in high-end luxury cars from Bristol and Birmingham to rural locations, including Stepaside, Lamphey, Hundleton and Monkton.

From there, the cocaine was distributed onwards by members of the gang based in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire.

Kalum Haines, Leon Haines and Zak Fecci were identified as trusted members of the gang, taking possession of drugs directly from upstream suppliers and acting as distributors in Pembrokeshire.

Ryan Hare carried out the same role in Carmarthenshire and was identified as being responsible for organising the collection and delivery of the drugs seized by police on August 8.

Usman Afsar was found to have played a role in the conspiracy when he drove from Bristol to Pembrokeshire as a courier and met with gang members riding e-bikes in Pembroke.

Detective Sergeant Mark Jones, of Dyfed-Powys Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Team, said: “After a number of months of enquiries, we built a case clearly evidencing that Ahmed Al-Farraji travelled from Cardiff to meet with Tommy Lee Jones in rural locations.

“Upstream supply couriers would also drive from Bristol to Pembrokeshire on these dates and supplied Tommy Lee Jones with large amounts of cocaine.

“These deliveries were then collected by loyal customers of his and distributed throughout two counties.

“We estimate that the total amount of controlled drugs handled by the gang between February and November 2025 was that of large-scale commercial trafficking.”

A proactive police operation was later carried out to arrest the suspects over the course of a week. Warrants were executed by the Serious and Organised Crime Team, alongside Neighbourhood Policing and Prevention Teams, in Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Cardiff and Bristol.

The following defendants were charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs:

Tommy Lee Jones, aged 33, of Castle Quarry, Monkton; Ryan Hare, aged 27, of Heol Cae Pownd, Cefneithin; Kalum Haines, aged 22, of Woodland Park, Neyland; Leon Haines, aged 26, of Ashdale Lane, Pembroke; Zack Fecci, aged 20, of Hawkstone Road, Pembroke Dock; Ahmed Al-Farraji, aged 25, of Topaz Street, Cardiff; Usman Afsar, aged 41, of Woodborough Street, Bristol; and Adam Noraddin, aged 25, of Plas Nanthelyg, Cardiff.

All eight appeared at Swansea Crown Court.

Jones, Hare, Kalum Haines, Leon Haines and Fecci admitted their involvement. Al-Farraji, Noraddin and Afsar were found guilty following a six-week trial.

Officer in the case DC Sam Burson said: “These individuals have worked together as an organised criminal gang bringing large amounts of Class A drugs into our towns and villages.

“They have shown an utter disregard to the safety of the communities in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, and contributed with the adverse effect that drugs have on the social and economic wellbeing of the places that we live and work.

“Through detailed and thorough investigative analysis, we have brought charges against and dismantled a group of people who thought they could profit from their criminal activity.

“The strength of evidence against them has, however, resulted with positive outcomes and the conviction of these individuals.”

The defendants will be sentenced at a later date.

Cover image: Computer generated artists’ impression

A 200-year-old law which criminalised rough sleeping and begging has been repealed in England and Wales.

The Vagrancy Act 1824, long criticised by homelessness charities as outdated and inhumane, was formally repealed today, Monday, June 29.

The change means people can no longer be criminalised simply for sleeping rough or begging, although existing laws remain in place to deal with criminal behaviour or anti-social behaviour where necessary.

Welsh homelessness charity The Wallich welcomed the repeal, describing it as a major step away from punishment and towards support.

Sian Aldridge, Interim Chief Executive at The Wallich, said: “If you are forced to sleep on the streets, you are not a ‘vagrant’, you’re a human being who needs support and love.

“Experiencing homelessness is extremely traumatic and the 200-year-old Vagrancy Act was altogether cruel, inhumane and actively prevented people from breaking repeated cycles of homelessness. It’s been a long fight get it repealed.”

The charity said it had campaigned for years alongside Crisis, Liberty, Shelter Cymru, St Mungo’s, Centrepoint, Cymorth Cymru and Homeless Link for the law to be scrapped.

Ms Aldridge added: “The final repeal of the Vagrancy Act shows that when we speak out together, change is possible. Change that could be transformative to tackling homelessness in Wales.

“We only hope now that policing and local authorities in Wales do not use other means to unnecessarily penalise people for sleeping rough.”

The Wallich said it remained concerned about the use of dispersal orders, public space protection orders and “hostile architecture”, such as anti-sleep benches or doorway spikes, where these are used to move people on rather than address the causes of homelessness.

The repeal comes after years of pressure from charities and campaigners, who argued that criminalising rough sleeping pushed vulnerable people further away from help.

The UK Government said the move marked a shift from punishment to prevention, with ministers saying homelessness should be treated as a social issue requiring support rather than prosecution.