7 hours ago
3
Dyfed-Powys Police / South Wales Police
(L-R) Thomas Ashford, Matthew Membury and Stewart Jones will serve prison sentences for stealing 50 tonnes of tin from Tata Steel
Three steelworks workers and an accomplice stole 50 tonnes of tin ingots worth almost £1.2m from their employers before selling it on to scrap merchants, a court heard.
In all, 32-year-old Matthew Membury had £740,000 deposited into his account from various scrap dealers, before he paid his co-conspirators who all worked at Tata Steel in Trostre, Llanelli in Carmarthenshire.
Swansea Crown Court heard Thomas Ashford, 35, Stewart Jones, 56, and Richard Jones, 29, worked in security and forklift driver roles on the site.
Membury repeatedly drove his transit van into the works by using a fake ID issued by Stewart Jones, the security supervisor, when the site was quiet.
All four pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal between July 2023 and October 2024, while Membury also pleaded guilty to three charges of possessing a bladed article.
Ashford from Tairgwaith, Brynamman, and Stewart Jones, from Llanelli, were both jailed for three years and four months.
Richard Jones, from Townhill, Swansea, was given a 20-month sentence, suspended for two years, along with 250 hours of unpaid work and an electronically-monitored curfew.
Membury, from Landore, Swansea, refused to appear in court for sentencing on Tuesday. The judge said his custodial sentence would be added to the 32-month one he is currently serving for arson, but not until he presented himself to the court.
Tata Steel
The group stole almost £1.2m worth of tin ingots like these from the Tata site
Stewart Jones, the court heard, would send Membury messages to let him know when the site was safe for him to enter.
The ingots were loaded into the van by cast house supervisor Ashford, using a forklift, before being driven off-site by Membury.
Membury kept almost £340,000 from selling the ingots, with Ashford retaining more than £250,000.
Stewart Jones received more than £80,000 and Richard Jones about £60,000, the court heard.
They were arrested in October 2024 after being caught trying to leave the site with a quantity of tin.
A subsequent search also found three swords in the back of Membury's van.
Craig Jones, prosecuting, said the Crown Prosecution Service would look to recover their proceeds of crime.
In a victim impact statement, works manager James Davies said the thefts had been "damaging" to the business, and workers were now required to park off-site and walk in.
More than 600 people work at the site, which manufactures about 400,000 tonnes of tin, chrome and coated steels for the packaging industry every year.
Ryan Bowen, representing Membury, admitted his client had "not added any strength to the mitigation against him by absenting himself from proceedings".
Matthew Murphy, representing Stewart Jones, said his client had showed "genuine, wholehearted remorse" but his financial gain "pales in comparison".
David Singh, for Ashford, said he had admitted the "endeavour was his idea", and was now "taking responsibility".
Adam Roxborough, for Richard Jones, argued his client was "at the bottom of this criminal hierarchy".
Judge Paul Thomas KC described the thefts as a "gross breach of trust".
After the hearing, Tata Steel said it had worked closely with Dyfed-Powys Police and was "pleased that criminal proceedings relating to this matter have now been resolved".
