Latest news with #CardiffCrownCourt
Wales Online
3 days ago
- Wales Online
Man found cowering in back garden with a stash of Class A drugs
Man found cowering in back garden with a stash of Class A drugs Concerns were raised in court the 22-year-old will get an "education in criminality" while in prison Rees Morris (Image: South Wales Police ) A man was caught dealing Class A drugs twice in a matter of weeks - first in Weston-super-Mare and then 50 miles away in Cardiff. Rees Morris was found hiding in a back garden in the Welsh city with a stash of crack cocaine following a search of a house. In the house officers found a diary containing a "tick list" of moneys owed along with "rap lyrics referring to Class A drugs". Cardiff Crown Court heard 22-year-old Morris has no previous convictions and that concerns have been raised about the "education" in crime he may receive in prison. Emma Meadows, prosecuting, told the court that the first offence happened in Weston-super-Mare in Somerset on January 19 this year when the defendant was caught on CCTV carrying out what appeared to be drug deal on the streets - she said a woman was seen handing over money to the defendant and in return was given a small "white item". The court heard the woman was located by police and spoken to, and she admitted buying drugs from the defendant. Morris was subsequently located, arrested, and searched and was found with four £10 notes. He was not in possession of any drugs. The defendant was released on bail. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter The prosecutor said Morris came to the attention of police again on February 27, this time in Cardiff. She said officers in the Grangetown area became suspicious of the activities of two men in a parked white BMW on Wedmore Road who appeared to be carrying out an "exchange" with males who approached them, and they noted the details of the vehicle. The same BMW was spotted again later that day parked outside a property on nearby Stafford Road. The prosecutor said officers subsequently executed a search of the property - the defendant was not present but was spotted hiding in a neighbouring garden and was seen to be ripping a black plastic bag and trying to dispose of the contents. Police recovered a bag containing 3.5g of crack cocaine from the spot where Morris had been hiding. A search of the Stafford Road house uncovered more black packages of the type recovered from the garden along with weighing scales and a red diary containing a so-called "tick list" of moneys owed and "rap lyrics referring to Class A drugs". Read about a man who was importing an industrial chemical from China and using it to make and sell dangerous "diet pills" Rees Morris, aged 22, of Earlham Grove, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, had previous pleaded guilty to being concerned in offering to supply cocaine - Somerset offending - and possession of crack cocaine with intent to supply when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions. Steve Burnell, for Morris, said the defendant had written a letter to court which described how being arrested and remanded had been a "massive reality check" for him. He said a pre-sentence report prepared for the sentencing hearing highlighted concerns about the "education in relation to criminality" the defendant may receive in prison. Article continues below With one-third discounts for his guilty pleas, judge Eugene Egan sentenced Morris to 40 months in prison comprising 20 months for each offence to run consecutively. The defendant will serve up to half the 40 months in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
Wales Online
4 days ago
- Wales Online
He made 'diet pills' in his bedroom and sold them online but they contained something very dangerous
He made 'diet pills' in his bedroom and sold them online but they contained something very dangerous Kyle Enos bought an industrial chemical on the dark web which is banned for human consumption in the UK and used it to make illegal 'diet pills' which he sold online Kyle Enos (Image: Tarian ) A man used an industrial chemical bought from China on the dark web to make illegal and dangerous 'diet pills', a court has heard. Kyle Enos sold the pills to dieters around the UK and overseas, disguising the packages as harmless vitamin tablets. Cardiff Crown Court heard the 'diet tablets' were made with 2,4-Dinitrophenol - or DNP - an industrial chemical that is poisonous to humans and which is banned for human consumption in the UK. The chemical can cause death as well as other serious physical side-effects. At the time he was making and selling the pills the defendant had only been out of prison for a matter of months after serving a lengthy sentence for supplying the powerful opioid fentanyl. The court heard Enos would purchase the pure form sodium salt of 2,4-Dinitrophenol on the dark web from China. He then mixed the orange powder with various cutting agents and used a pill press in his bedroom to manufacture the tablets. The defendant advertised the pills - and other regulated medications - on a website he had created, and took payments in cryptocurrencies. The court heard Enos received orders via email and shipped the pills - disguised as vitamins and minerals - to customers around the UK and internationally as far afield as Hawaii and Australia. A batch of the chemical being mixed with cutting agents (Image: Tarian ) The 33-year-old was arrested in July last year when officers from Tarian, the regional organised crime unit for southern Wales, raided his home and found more than two kilos of DNP along with a pill press. The raid followed information received from the National Crime Agency. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter Kyle Enos, formerly of Newport but now of Station Road, Maesteg, had previously pleaded guilty to importing, acquiring or using a regulated substance without licence; supplying a regulated substance to the public without a licence, supplying a regulated poison by a person other than a pharmacist; and five counts of failing to comply with a serious crime prevention order when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. The pill press Enos used to make the tablets (Image: Tarian ) In 2018 the defendant was convicted of importing, supplying, and exporting "significant amounts" of the Class A drug fentanyl and sentenced to eight years in prison. That offending involved Enos - using the online pseudonym "sovietbear" - purchasing the synthetic opioid from labs in China, mixing it with other substances, and selling it to customers around the world using the dark web. Such was the potency of the drug the defendant was selling police went through his contacts list following his arrest and found four people on the database had died, though it could not be proved that the fentanyl supplied by Enos was related to their deaths. Among thd deaths were those of 23-year-old university student Jack Barton, who died in Cardiff in January, 2017, and Aaron Rees, aged 34, from Ammanford who was found dead in March, 2017. As well as being handed a lengthy jail term Enos was made subject of a serious crime prevention order which, among other things, banned him from selling products online and banned him from accessing the dark web. The DNP offending put him in breach of that order. The defendant had only been out of prison for a matter of months following the fentanyl conviction when he began dealing in the illegal diet pills. With a discount for his guilty pleas the defendant was sentenced to three years in prison. He will serve up to half the sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. Speaking after the sentencing, detective constable Kieran Morris of Tarian said Enos was caught thanks to a "proactive partnership investigation" involving the National Crime Agency, the National Food Crime Unit, the Ministry of Defence, HM Prison and Probation Service, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority, and South Wales Police. Article continues below He said: "The swift arrest of Enos and the removal of these poisonous diet pills from the open market was our utmost priority. Enos was supplying the pills with no safety precautions in place, and no advice on dosages. "This could have led to buyers becoming extremely ill or even dying. Tarian regional organised crime unit are committed to safeguarding members of the public not only within our region, but across the United Kingdom and beyond. The sentence handed down to Enos today should serve as a warning to others engaging in similar criminality." The head of the National Crime Agency's prisons and lifetime management unit, Alison Abbott, said crime prevention orders were a "powerful tool" to help prevent offenders from continuing their criminality when they came out of prison, and she said the case of Enos should serve as a warning to others that the agency would "actively monitor all those who are subject to such orders" when they are in the community.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Man who sold diet pills made from poison jailed
A man who sold diet pills on the internet which were actually poison has been jailed for three years. Kyle Enos, 33, had only been out of prison for a few months for selling fentanyl online when he bought the drug 2, 4 Dinotrophenol, or DNP, on the dark web from suppliers in India and China. He pressed it into pills in his bedroom in Maesteg, Bridgend. Cardiff Crown Court heard DNP is a regulated substance classed as both a poison and a secondary explosive that has caused at least 34 deaths in the UK. Judge Simon Mills told Enos his website gave the impression that the tablets were produced in "some sort of professional laboratory by people in white coats and qualifications and expertise". Officers raided Enos' property on Station Road in Maesteg on 25 July 2024 and found 2.5kg of orange powder and a machine used to press it into pill form. Enos admitted a total of eight charges at Cardiff Magistrates Court including possessing 2, 4 DNP, supplying the drug and supplying a regulated poison. He had also admitted five charges of failing to comply with a Serious Crime Prevention Order (SCPO) handed to him following his fentanyl convictions. In 2018 he was sentenced to eight years in prison for supplying "significant amounts" of the opioid, fentanyl to a total of 166 contacts. Four of those contacts, including Jack Barton, 23, a Cardiff University student, and Arran Rees, 34, from Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, died. No charges were brought in relation to their deaths as it could not be said with certainty Enos had supplied the fentanyl. Having served some of his eight-year sentence, he was released on licence, in 2021, but was recalled to prison in June 2022, before being released again in August 2022. Organised crime group sentenced after drugs bust Drug production booming in UK's empty high streets £250m drug bust warning to criminals, say police Under the terms of his SCPO he was not allowed to sell products online or in a virtual marketplace; he was not allowed to access the dark web and had to notify a National Crime Agency (NCA) officer about possessing mobile phones and laptops and creating his own internet page. Enos pleaded guilty to five failures to comply with his SCPO having used a laptop to access the dark web to set up a Proton email account with end-to-end encryption and creating up a website selling DNT. The court was shown screengrabs of his online marketplace which included suggestions of products customers "may also like" giving the impression of it being a legitimate pharmacy. He took payment for the drugs by bank transfer, bitcoin and other cryptocurrency from customers around the world, including as far away as New Zealand. Enos has refused access to police to some of his devices. DNP is the drug which led to the death of Eloise Parry, 21, at hospital in Wrexham, in 2015. The Glyndwr University student, died after taking eight capsules. In bodycam footage shown to the court the powder can be seen in a washing up bowl on his bedroom floor next to an empty pizza box. Underwear can also be seen next to his bed by the pill press machine and another washing up bowl filled with pills. Judge Simon Mills said he wanted the footage to be released to the media for members of the public to be made aware of the unsanitary conditions in which the pills were made. "You were selling poison to the general public," said Judge Mills. "Your pharmacy was in fact your house or flat and you were preparing and pressing the pills you were selling to the general public on a filthy piece of equipment amongst training shoes and discarded underwear." He was sentenced to a total of 36 months in prison. "You have a propensity for selling dangerous substances to people," said Judge Mills, adding: "This is a habit that you must stop." "The court doesn't know the full extent of the harm that you did by peddling this horrendous substance. "If any of your product is still out there in the community and it can be shown to have killed someone, you should face an investigation for manslaughter, but hopefully that will not happen." A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing will be held later this year.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Maesteg man who sold diet pills made from DNP poison jailed
A man who sold diet pills on the internet which were actually poison has been jailed for three Enos, 33, had only been out of prison for a few months for selling fentanyl online when he bought the drug 2, 4 Dinotrophenol, or DNP, on the dark web from suppliers in India and pressed it into pills in his bedroom in Maesteg, Crown Court heard DNP is a regulated substance classed as both a poison and a secondary explosive that has caused at least 34 deaths in the UK. Judge Simon Mills told Enos his website gave the impression that the tablets were produced in "some sort of professional laboratory by people in white coats and qualifications and expertise".Officers raided Enos' property on Station Road in Maesteg on 25 July 2024 and found 2.5kg of orange powder and a machine used to press it into pill admitted a total of eight charges at Cardiff Magistrates Court including possessing 2, 4 DNP, supplying the drug and supplying a regulated had also admitted five charges of failing to comply with a Serious Crime Prevention Order (SCPO) handed to him following his fentanyl 2018 he was sentenced to eight years in prison for supplying "significant amounts" of the opioid, fentanyl to a total of 166 of those contacts, including Jack Barton, 23, a Cardiff University student, and Arran Rees, 34, from Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, charges were brought in relation to their deaths as it could not be said with certainty Enos had supplied the served some of his eight-year sentence, he was released on licence, in 2021, but was recalled to prison in June 2022, before being released again in August 2022. Under the terms of his SCPO he was not allowed to sell products online or in a virtual marketplace; he was not allowed to access the dark web and had to notify a National Crime Agency (NCA) officer about possessing mobile phones and laptops and creating his own internet pleaded guilty to five failures to comply with his SCPO having used a laptop to access the dark web to set up a Proton email account with end-to-end encryption and creating up a website selling court was shown screengrabs of his online marketplace which included suggestions of products customers "may also like" giving the impression of it being a legitimate took payment for the drugs by bank transfer, bitcoin and other cryptocurrency from customers around the world, including as far away as New has refused access to police to some of his is the drug which led to the death of Eloise Parry, 21, at hospital in Wrexham, in Glyndwr University student, died after taking eight capsules. In bodycam footage shown to the court the powder can be seen in a washing up bowl on his bedroom floor next to an empty pizza can also be seen next to his bed by the pill press machine and another washing up bowl filled with Simon Mills said he wanted the footage to be released to the media for members of the public to be made aware of the unsanitary conditions in which the pills were made."You were selling poison to the general public," said Judge Mills."Your pharmacy was in fact your house or flat and you were preparing and pressing the pills you were selling to the general public on a filthy piece of equipment amongst training shoes and discarded underwear."He was sentenced to a total of 36 months in prison."You have a propensity for selling dangerous substances to people," said Judge Mills, adding: "This is a habit that you must stop.""The court doesn't know the full extent of the harm that you did by peddling this horrendous substance."If any of your product is still out there in the community and it can be shown to have killed someone, you should face an investigation for manslaughter, but hopefully that will not happen."A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing will be held later this year.
Wales Online
4 days ago
- Wales Online
Former school teaching assistant caught with the most serious child abuse images
Former school teaching assistant caught with the most serious child abuse images The judge said the defendant posed a high risk to male children Daniel Beatty, who had been subject to a sexual harm prevention order when he breached his terms (Image: western mail ) A Welsh former teaching assistant caught with child abuse images has been jailed. On Wednesday Cardiff Crown Court heard Daniel Beatty, of Capel Crescent in Newport, had been caught with images of boys being sexually abused. Beatty, 33, had been subject to a sexual harm prevention order dating back to 2015 when he was jailed for three years for sexually touching an 11-year-old boy and showing him pornography, the court heard. Kathryn Lane, prosecuting, said Beatty was referred to Gwent Police by children's charity the NSPCC in March last year after the charity was informed the defendant had been contacting a 15-year-old boy while gaming online. Following a police investigation the defendant was arrested in January of this year and his devices were seized. Ms Lane said while the conversation was not sexual it was a clear breach of the terms of the order he should have been abiding by. On Beatty's devices a small number of child sex abuse images were also discovered and they were in the worst category for harm - category A. The defendant answered no comment to all questions at police interview but pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. Solomon Hartley, defending, stressed his client was owed credit for his early guilty plea and said a very small number of images were found on his devices. Mr Hartley submitted there was a clear prospect of rehabilitation and said Beatty was not aware the teenager he was talking to online about gaming was 15. Judge Simon Mills agreed the number of images was small in volume, but said the offending - given it happened with the backdrop of a previous jail term for offences against children - justifies an immediate jail term. He told Beatty in the dock: 'This is not the case of a first time offender coming before court with a relatively small number of images. It is a small number of images but they're category A images and you did it against a backdrop which you knew perfectly well. 'You knew the consequences but decided to do it anyway. You pose a high risk to young male children. A high risk in fact given the sting of being subject to these provisions has lessened as time has passed. 'This case not only crosses the custody threshold but is also a case in which adequate punishment can only be achieved by a sentence of immediate custody. Indecent pictures of children are real children being abused by real adults.' Judge Mills sentenced Beatty to 12 months custody, half of which he'll serve behind bars and the remainder on licence. He also continues to be subject of a sexual harm prevention order for life. Article continues below
