'Vital cogs' in UK crime gang caught by police at Welsh builders merchants

Wales Online

a day ago

'Vital cogs' in UK crime gang caught by police at Welsh builders merchants
The criminals who police intercepted had travelled 250 miles from Lancashire as part of a 'large-scale and well-organised criminal enterprise'
Benjamin Poyton
(Image: South Wales Police )
Members of a "large-scale and well-organised criminal enterprise" were caught by police in a builders merchants, a court has heard. The men - who had travelled more than 250 miles to the Swansea area - were part of a criminal network which was using bank details stolen from elderly victims to buy copper piping and other items from unsuspecting suppliers which it then quickly sold on for cash at scrap yards.
A judge at Swansea Crown Court described Benjamin Poyton and Liam jones as "vital cogs" in the conspiracy, though the identity of those higher up the chain in the organised crime group remains unknown. When he travelled to Wales one of the defendants was being investigated for similar offending in London.
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Dean Pulling, prosecuting, told the court that between March 19 and March 26 this year a series of orders were placed with two building supply firms in Swansea and the Swansea Valley - LBS in Landore and JA Daly in Ystradgynlais - for thousands of pounds worth of copper tubes and nails in the names of a various companies. The goods were then collected by the defendants in vans.
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The prosecutor said in reality all the company names given when the orders were placed were bogus, and the card details used to make the payments over the phone had previously been stolen from elderly and vulnerable people around the UK. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter
The court heard that when another order was placed with LBS on March 26 the manager became suspicious at what was going on and contacted the police who attended the premises and lay in wait for the order to be collected. When Poyton turned up to collect the order in a Citroen Berlingo van he was arrested, and his reply to being cautioned was "I knew I was running on thin ice". The officers seized the defendant's phone but he refused to reveal the PIN telling officers: "No, I would rather that than chance what I have on that."
The court heard that later the same day another phone order was placed with LBS, and the unknown caller also checked whether the first one had been successfully collected - the manager of the firm "played along" and said everything was fine. The manager again alerted the police and when Jones attended in a VW Crafter van at just after 5pm he was arrested by waiting officers.
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The court heard that when officers searched Poyton's van they found a receipt for £824 from EMR scrap yard in Roath Dock in Cardiff and when police checked CCTV from the metal business they saw Poyton dropping off copper pipes on March 18, 19, 20 and 21. Further checks showed the two defendants had been staying in a hotel in the Swansea area.
The court heard that the total value of the fraudulently-obtained items was just under £10,000.
Benjamin Poyton, aged 36, of Blackburn Road, Darwen, Blackburn, and 28-year-old Liam Jones, of Norfolk Street, Blackburn, had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud when they appeared in the dock for sentencing. Poyton had also previously pleaded guilty to driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence and driving without insurance while Jones had also previously pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified and driving with no insurance.
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Poyton has previous convictions for 28 offences including drugs, dishonesty, violence, and public disorder matters. Jones has no previous convictions but at the time of the Welsh offending was being investigated by City of London Police in relation to similar matters. The court heard that in January this year he was disqualified from driving as a "totter" after accumulating 12 points on his licence.
Dan Griffiths, for Poyton, said the pre-sentence report detailed how the defendant was being paid £200 by others for each trip he made with the money going to discharge a drugs debt. He said his client was at pains to point out that he had not been involved in obtaining the bank details of the elderly victims nor in placing the orders with the builders merchants, and said while others had done those things the two men in the dock were the ones who had been "taking the risk" and collecting the goods.
David Singh, for Jones, asked the court to take into account the defendant's lack of previous convictions, his previous military service, and his good work ethic. He said the father-of-four was concerned about being absent from his children and his partner, and said the reality was "there must have been others above him in the chain".
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Judge Paul Thomas KC told the defendants they had been part of a "large-scale and well-organised criminal enterprise" to use payments details stolen from elderly and vulnerable individuals to fraudulently obtain building materials which were quickly sold on. He said it had been a "wide-ranging conspiracy" and said while others not before the court had been involved Payton and Jones had been "vital cogs" in the operation.
The judge said while there was nothing to distinguish the offenders in terms of their involvement in the offending they could be distinguished in terms of their previous convictions and the prospect of rehabilitation, though he noted Jones had taken part in the Welsh offending after being released under investigation by police in London.
With 20 per cent discounts for their guilty pleas each defendant was sentenced to 14 months in prison - Poyton will have to serve his sentence immediately but Jones' sentence was suspended for 18 months and he was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and do a rehabilitation course.
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Judge Thomas told Jones he had avoided immediate imprisonment "by the skin of your teeth" and he noted while the defendant said he was concerned about the impact on his children if he were to be sent to prison, he obviously hadn't been so concerned about them when he involved himself in the fraud.