A WATCHDOG has rated Dyfed-Powys Police only “Adequate” in its response to serious and organised crime, despite praise for the wider southern Wales regional crime unit.

HMICFRS inspected the regional response involving Dyfed-Powys Police, South Wales Police, Gwent Police and Tarian, the Regional Organised Crime Unit for southern Wales.

Tarian was graded “Good”, as was South Wales Police. But Dyfed-Powys Police and Gwent Police were both graded “Adequate”.

The finding means the force covering Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Powys has been told there is still work to do in how it identifies and tackles organised criminality.

Inspectors said the southern Wales region had recorded just 93 serious and organised crime threats by July last year. The next lowest region in England and Wales had identified 219.

HMICFRS said that gap was “concerning”, even allowing for the smaller size of the region.

The report also found that recorded threats were heavily focused on drugs, raising concerns that other forms of organised crime may not be being identified as effectively.

However, Tarian recorded 2,650 disruptions between June 2024 and June 2025, the second highest total among regional organised crime units in England and Wales. These included arrests, the closure of drugs lines and safeguarding work.

Across 2025, Tarian investigations led to 285 arrests, the safeguarding of 1,488 children and 598 vulnerable adults, and combined prison sentences totalling 320 years.

Inspectors praised strong regional partnership working and highlighted Tarian’s use of technology, including systems capable of reducing some data-review work from weeks to around 30 minutes.

The report also noted that Tarian is the only regional organised crime unit in the network to have a dedicated artificial intelligence coordinator.

But inspectors made clear that improvements are needed. They recommended that Tarian and the three forces improve how serious and organised crime threats are recorded and identified across a wider range of criminality.

They also called for better joined-up procurement of specialist technical equipment.

Assistant Chief Constable Gemma Morris, who leads Tarian ROCU, said serious and organised crime causes “significant harm” to communities and that much of the work carried out by the unit is “necessarily covert and often unseen by the public”.

She said the report recognised the strength of regional partnerships and innovation, while acknowledging that improvements were already being taken forward.

For Dyfed-Powys Police, the “Adequate” grading will raise questions about whether organised crime threats in rural and coastal communities are being properly identified.

The force area includes some of the most geographically dispersed communities in Wales, with long transport routes, isolated properties, ports, tourist economies and vulnerable young people all potentially attractive to organised criminals.

The inspection’s central warning is not that police are inactive. It is that the full picture of organised crime may still not be clear enough.

The report says work is now underway across the region to address the recommendations.

Dominik Szymanski raped and beat the woman at his flat before stealing her dog. She was found dead the day after giving evidence against him

A SWANSEA man has been jailed for 16 years after raping and assaulting a vulnerable woman he had met only hours earlier.

Dominik Szymanski, 47, attacked the woman at his flat in Matthew Street, Swansea, after the pair met in the city centre on September 2 last year.

Swansea Crown Court heard both had their dogs with them when they began talking, before going back to his nearby flat.

Once inside, Szymanski subjected the woman to a prolonged attack. CCTV later showed him dragging her from the property and leaving her in a lift.

In the days after the attack, he kept the woman’s dog and arranged to sell it. The animal was later returned.

Szymanski denied rape and assault occasioning actual bodily harm but was convicted by a jury after a 10-day trial. He later admitted stealing the dog.

The court heard the woman gave evidence against him during the trial. The following day, she was found dead. An inquest has yet to determine the cause of death.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the woman’s mother said her daughter was a devoted animal lover who looked “broken” after the attack and the loss of her pet.

She said her daughter had worked hard to tackle addiction issues and had written a list of things she still wanted to do with her life.

Her mother told the court: “In my eyes, his actions killed my child.”

Sentencing Szymanski, Judge Geraint Walters described the case as “disturbing” and said he had seen the woman as someone vulnerable who he could take advantage of.

The judge said she had been a “most compelling and honest witness”, despite the difficulties she had faced with drink and drugs.

He said he could not conclude that she had taken her own life because of what had happened, but added that the timing of her death was “particularly sad”.

Addressing Szymanski, he said: “What you did to her had a profound emotional effect on her.”

The court also heard Szymanski had previous convictions, including assaulting a former partner, battery, and assaulting a police officer.

He was sentenced as a dangerous offender to an extended 16-year term, made up of 12 years in custody and a further four years on licence.

He must serve two-thirds of the custodial term before he can apply for release. Any release will be decided by the Parole Board. He will remain on the sex offenders register for life.

Detective Constable Claire Davies, of South Wales Police, described the attack as “prolonged and significant” and called Szymanski a “truly despicable offender”.

She said the outcome had brought relief to the victim’s family and friends, adding that police hoped the case would reassure victims of sexual abuse that they will be listened to and treated with dignity and respect.

Anyone affected by the issues in this article can contact Samaritans free on 116 123 or by emailing [email protected].

A FORMER Swansea Prison inmate died from combined drug toxicity just 48 hours after being released, an official investigation has found.

Jason Maynard, 43, left HMP Swansea on May 23, 2024. Two days later, he was pronounced dead by paramedics after being found unresponsive in the back of a friend’s car.

The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman report says Mr Maynard had been given overdose-reversal medication before leaving custody and warned about the heightened risk of overdose after a period of reduced drug tolerance.

After his release, he attended his first probation appointment and was placed in temporary hotel accommodation by Swansea Council.

The following day, police were called after concerns were raised that Mr Maynard had a cut above his eye and appeared incoherent. He refused hospital treatment and was taken to his mother’s home.

The report says he later used drugs and drank alcohol with friends. He then fell asleep in a car outside an address, where he was later found unresponsive.

Mr Maynard had missed a substance misuse appointment on May 24 but attended the service the next day. Staff noted he had “blue around his mouth”, which caused concern about possible drug use.

The Ombudsman found that prison, probation and support services had taken appropriate steps before and after his release.

Its findings said Mr Maynard had received suitable substance misuse support, had been referred for accommodation, and had licence conditions in place covering drug and alcohol use, engagement with services and drug testing.

The report concluded that the necessary referrals and support arrangements had been made, but Mr Maynard died later the same day he attended the community substance misuse service.